POPE Leo XIV will visit Spain in early June, the Vatican City’s Press Office has confirmed.
It was announced at the beginning of the year that the Pontiff would be coming to the country with full details revealed on Wednesday.
It will be the first papal visit to Spain since Pope Benedict’s trip in 2011 to celebrate World Youth Day.
READ MORE:
- The biggest challenge facing Spain today? That would be the rise of the far-right, Pope Leo warns the country’s bishops
- Pope Leo will make first trip to Spain as pontiff this year with three ‘recommended’ destinations revealed
Leo has been to Spain before in his pre-Pontiff days.
Between June 6 and 12, the Pope will firstly visit Madrid and then Barcelona, where he will inaugurate the newest and tallest tower of the Sagrada Familia, the monumental basilica that has reshaped the skyline of the Catalan capital.
The visit will fall on the hundredth anniversary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, the architect who designed the Basilica and started its construction.
He was last year was declared a Venerable Servant of God.
The Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, said: “It is a joy, and we thank the Pope for inaugurating the tower of Jesus Christ, which is the tallest of any church in the world.”
Catalunya’s president, Salvador Illa, described the Pope’s visit this June as ‘great news’ for the Christian community and Catalan society as a whole,
“We will receive him with open arms,” adding that the new Pontiff represents ‘universal human values’ such as solidarity.
The Pope will then travel to the Canary Islands to carry out a journey that had been on the ‘wish list’ of the late Pope Francis.
While in the Canary Islands, the Pontiff will visit Tenerife and Gran Canaria which are destinations for thousands for migrants each year.
The American pope, who became head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics in May, is a vocal defender of migrants, like his predecessor Pope Francis.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
