Pope Leo delivered a powerful message to human trafficking survivors June 11 during the first stop of a two-day visit to Spain’s Canary Islands, one of Europe’s closest points of entry from the African coast.
Papal Visit
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.
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.
As Pope Leo XIV descends toward Madrid June 6, one landmark likely to catch his eye is a towering cross rising above the cemetery at Paracuellos del Jarama on the outskirts of the Spanish capital.
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to make an apostolic journey to France Sept. 25-28 this year, according to an announcement from the director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni.
From conflict zones to ancient Christian sites, Pope Leo XIV brings message of peace, hope to Africa
Pope Leo XIV concluded his first trip to Africa April 23, capping a four-country visit marked by urgent calls for peace, direct engagement with conflict zones, and a backdrop of international political tension.
On his last day in Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV reminded Catholics in the country to seek strength, justice, and hope from the Gospel and the sacraments.
Pope Leo XIV arrived April 21 in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final country of his 11-day apostolic journey in Africa, where the pope met the country’s longtime ruler and urged the country’s civil authorities to choose justice over power, quoting St. Augustine’s “City of God.”