Pope Leo XIV’s six-day tour itinerary in Spain

Pope Leo XIV will begin his fourth international apostolic journey on Saturday, June 6, with a six-day visit to Spain that will take him across more than 1,500 miles and four destinations: Madrid, Barcelona, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife. The trip, which runs through June 12, is expected to draw approximately half a million faithful to its various public events.

The Pope will depart Rome on the morning of June 6 and is scheduled to arrive at Madrid’s Adolfo Suárez Barajas Airport at 10:30 a.m. A welcome ceremony will take place at the Royal Palace of Madrid at 11:30, where King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will receive him alongside other dignitaries. Following the official welcome, the Pope will meet with representatives of government, civil society, and the diplomatic corps, delivering his first address of the trip. 

Later that day, he will visit a Caritas center that supports homeless people, before leading a youth prayer event in Plaza de Lima. 

On June 7, he will preside over a large Corpus Christi Mass in Plaza de Cibeles and attend a public event bringing together figures from culture, business, and sport. 

For the first time ever, the Pope will address Spain’s Congress and Senate, placing his message directly at the center of national and European debate at a time of political tension, especially over immigration. Life issues are also prevalent in Spain, particularly euthanasia, which was legalized in the country in 2021, but brought international attention a few months ago when a young woman suffering from depression ended her life.

On Tuesday, June 9, before departing for Barcelona, Leo XIV will meet with volunteers at Pavilion 3 of the IFEMA trade fair centre, where he will deliver an address. 

The Pope will arrive at El Prat Airport in Barcelona around 12:30 on June 9. At 1 p.m. he will pray midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, where he will deliver a homily. At 8 p.m., a prayer vigil will take place at the Olympic Stadium.

The following morning, June 10, the Holy Father will travel to Brians 1 prison, where he will meet with 80 inmates and hear testimony from two female prisoners. At noon, he will visit the Abbey of Montserrat for the recitation of the Holy Rosary. 

The afternoon of June 10 will mark one of the most symbolic moments of the entire trip. The Pope will visit the Sagrada Família, where he will inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ — the crowning feature of Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece — which has made it the tallest church in the world. The visit coincides with the centenary of Gaudí’s death, that same day of June 10. 

The final leg of the journey will take Leo XIV to Gran Canaria and Tenerife, where migration will be the defining theme. Among the scheduled stops is the port of Arguineguín in Gran Canaria — long referred to as the “pier of shame” due to the overcrowded and precarious conditions in which thousands of migrants, primarily from West Africa, have arrived in recent years. The Pope is expected to meet migrants, hear their stories, and visit reception centres, including the Las Raíces facility, which hosts migrants from French-speaking African countries. His address there will be delivered in French.

During his stay, the Pope is scheduled to deliver 12 speeches, as well as five homilies and five greetings. All addresses will be in Spanish, with the exception of the Las Raíces visit. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed that the Pope may also speak a few words in Catalan during the Barcelona leg of the trip. 

The trip has been designed to focus heavily on justice, with several visits planned to homeless shelters, prisons, and migrant reception centres, underlining the Church’s call to support the most vulnerable. 

Travelling with the Pope will be Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, and Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín.