Pope Leo XIV arrives Saturday in Spain, the place he’s anticipated to give attention to the therapy of migrants and polarization in politics – themes more likely to cement his hold forth as a counterweight to the Trump administration.
The first American pope’s June 6 to 12 journey will see him visit migrant facilities, handle Spain’s parliament at a time of intense polarization within the nation and make a visit to the long-lasting Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona. It’s additionally anticipated that he’ll meet clerical sexual abuse survivors.
The southern European nation is one thing of a microcosm of the political tensions seen within the United States and past.
The pope was formally invited by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been a vocal opponent of US President Donald Trump’s warfare in Iran and has pursued a coverage of welcoming immigrants. Sánchez additionally got here to the protection of the Chicago-born pontiff after Trump criticized his stance on the war in April, with the left-wing Spanish chief saying that “while some sow wars, Leo XIV sows peace.”
Over current weeks, the pope has continued to talk out towards warfare, together with the use of religious language to justify army battle. He has additionally made immigration a precedence since his election in May final yr.
Leo’s first main theological document, printed final month, mentioned that the welcoming of migrants and refugees is a “litmus test” for social justice, and he’s described the therapy of immigrants within the US as “inhuman.”
The pope’s visit to Spain will see him journey to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off northwestern Africa which has turn into a significant entry level for brand new arrivals to Europe. While in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, he’ll meet with immigrants and teams searching for to combine them into society, and pay tribute to those that have died at sea whereas trying the treacherous journey to Europe.
The visit comes just a few weeks earlier than Leo makes a July 4 journey to Lampedusa, a southern Italian island which is a key European gateway for folks fleeing their very own international locations and crossing the Mediterranean.
Speaking forward of the Spain visit, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni mentioned immigration was one thing that the pope desires to deal with at “a human level.” The Catholic Church in Spain has a big charitable presence and is concerned in serving to immigrants.
Like the US, Spain has a polarized political tradition, and Leo XIV will come face-to-face with that partisanship when he turns into the primary pope to deal with each homes of the Spanish parliament.
Sánchez’s left-wing authorities is dealing with difficulties together with corruption scandals, whereas extra conservative voices, such because the nationalist-populist right-wing occasion Vox, are rising in reputation.
“A government currently facing a period of accelerated political deterioration and besieged by multiple corruption scandals will seek to present itself, alongside the pope, as being on the ‘right side of history’ on issues such as opposition to the war in Iran and its migration policies,” Emilio Sáenz-Francés, professor of historical past and worldwide relations on the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, advised NCS.
But, he added, “in such a context, any papal message concerning political ethics, public integrity, or corruption could easily rebound against the government rather than reinforce its position.”
Sáenz-Francés says the pope might want to deploy “considerable political intelligence” to navigate the tensions, and the success of the visit will depend upon Leo’s means to “transcend Spain’s deeply polarized environment and speak to broader concerns.”
While Sánchez is aligned with the pope’s views on warfare and migration, his authorities has additionally clashed with the native Catholic Church over abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and with some church voices over memorials to former dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, Spain’s nationalist chief in the course of the nation’s civil warfare.
But the pope, a fluent Spanish speaker, is not any stranger to the nation, having visited dozens of instances. He can be conscious of the political local weather.
The pope’s data of Spain is helped by his Spanish ancestry on his mom’s facet and the years he labored in Peru, a rustic to which Catholicism was introduced by means of Spain’s missionaries.
“Pope Leo speaks Spanish so well that nothing will be lost in translation,” Paloma García Ovejero, a former papal spokesperson who’s from Madrid and now works as head of media for Catholic charity Mary’s Meals International, advised NCS.
“And that’s key when you are talking about some complicated issues: polarization, immigration, friction between church and state. But he has shown that he’s not afraid to dig into delicate questions.”
Spain is the primary main European visit for Leo since his election and the primary papal visit to the nation since 2011.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, by no means visited Spain, tending to bypass Europe’s conventional Catholic heartlands, however the first American pope is making it a precedence.
In September, Leo will go to France, one other historically Catholic nation – though one, like its neighbor to the south, that has seen appreciable secularization.
“It’s true that Spain is in part highly secularized,” García Ovejero says. “But it’s also one of the European countries with the highest church attendance.”
Spain’s deep Catholic roots will come to the fore when, after his time in Madrid, the pope visits the autonomous area of Catalonia. While in Barcelona he’ll visit Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família to inaugurate the church’s new Tower of Jesus Christ. Leo will have a good time a Mass within the church on the centenary of architect Gaudí’s demise.
Leo’s itinerary additionally features a visit to Montserrat, a spot of immense non secular and cultural significance for the Catalan area, and whereas there he’ll visit an Eleventh-century Benedictine monastery and have lunch with the resident monks.
The pope’s visit comes at a time when many young people in Europe are displaying an curiosity within the church, with rising numbers of individuals searching for to turn into Catholics. Leo’s visit has generated a whole lot of pleasure, with huge crowds anticipated.
During his journey, the pope will maintain a gathering with younger folks on the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the house of Real Madrid soccer membership.
Cardinal José Cobo Cano, the archbishop of Madrid, has instructed that Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper who’s performing within the Spanish capital in the course of the papal visit, may have some form of assembly with Leo. Bad Bunny and the pope share a priority over immigration insurance policies, with the rapper declaring “ICE out” throughout his February Grammy acceptance awards. His Spanish-language efficiency in the course of the half-time present for the Superbowl also drew Trump’s ire.
Leo has insisted that the Catholic Church, if it desires to be a reputable ethical voice, should additionally withstand the darkness in its personal previous.
In his newest encyclical, the pope issued an apology for the church’s failure to sentence slavery. While in Spain, he’s anticipated to fulfill with clerical abuse survivors privately, though such conferences are normally not introduced upfront.
Spain has been rocked by abuse scandals, with a 2023 unbiased fee reporting that greater than 400,000 folks had been victims of abuse by clergy and lay folks in church establishments going again a long time.