Flying from Spain’s capital of Madrid to Barcelona June 9, Pope Leo XIV shifted his focus to the deeper and darker existential questions punctuating human life.
Vatican
Pope Leo XIV made a pilgrimage June 10 to the medieval mountain monastery of Montserrat, entrusting his pontificate and the Church’s mission to Our Lady of Montserrat, the beloved Black Madonna known to Catalans as “La Moreneta,” on his second day in Barcelona.
Nearly 100 years after the death of “God’s architect” Antoni Gaudí, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Barcelona on June 9 for a two-day visit to the Catalan capital that will culminate in the inauguration of the crowning tower of his unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Família, or Basilica of the Holy Family.
Madrid’s famous Bernabéu soccer stadium, normally packed with fans of the Real Madrid football club, roared with cheers and songs of praise to the Lord June 8 as 80,000 Catholics prayed together with Pope Leo XIV.
In a sweeping address to the Spanish parliament, Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful defense of the dignity of every human life, declaring that its protection is not a partisan issue but “a goal of civilization,” while addressing the issues of abortion, migration, freedom of conscience, the seal of confession, and the Church’s role in public life.
Pope Leo XIV told Catholic university leaders on June 3 that they have a responsibility to instill in their students a passion for “not only intellectual truth, but the truth that is Christ himself.”
Pope Leo XIV appointed Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication on June 2.
As World Cup approaches, Pope Leo’s June prayer intention is for sport to foster peace and encounter
With the FIFA World Cup opening this month, Pope Leo XIV has dedicated his June prayer intention to the power of sport to build bridges between cultures and nations, releasing a video prayer calling on athletes, coaches, and fans alike to embrace the field as a space of encounter rather than division.
Pope Leo XIV praised Venerable Fulton J. Sheen on June 1 as “a light of faith, hope, and love” whose radio and television broadcasts brought the Gospel to millions of Americans — including the pope himself as a child.
Pope Leo XIV will preside over a worldwide rosary for peace May 30, uniting Marian shrines across continents in simultaneous prayer to close the Catholic Church’s month of devotion to the Virgin Mary.