MORE than a million people flooded the streets of Madrid on Sunday morning to catch a glimpse of Pope Leo, as the pontiff began a historic week-long tour of the country.
Organisers said an estimated 1.2 million people lined the streets of the Spanish capital as the pontiff waved from his beloved ‘popemobile’, a specially-designed car used for public appearances.
He then held an open-air mass with worshippers at Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, where he told the crowd that God ‘identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone and forsaken’.
“No one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother,” he told the adoring attendees, who turned out in their droves for what is expected to be the biggest gathering of the Pope’s week-long visit.
READ MORE: Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez meets Pope Leo for the first time during Vatican audience
He also urged followers to continue believing in Christianity, saying: “Herein lies the task of Spain today and in the future: to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today.”
The Vatican leader touched down in Spain on Saturday morning, where he was greeted by King Felipe, Queen Letzia and their children.
He heaped praise on the Spanish government for its ‘faithful adherence to international law’ in a thinly-veiled reference to Pedro Sanchez’s administration’s position on Iran and Gaza.
He was then joined by half a million congregants – many of whom were young – for a prayer vigil near Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
“In the face of the emptiness of indifference and compliance, before the violence of war and lies, you must be the sparks of a new humanity,” he told those who gathered.
The Pope’s tour marks the first by a leader of the Catholic Church in 15 years.
In the coming days, he will visit Barcelona to officially inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ at the city’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica, before heading to the Canary Islands to meet with immigrants who have made the perilous crossing to the archipelago from the African coast.
He will also meet with survivors of clerical sexual abuse.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
