The Pope is expected to visit Spain this year and will travel to three locations within the country. Leo XIV will be the first pontiff to officially visit Spain in 15 years.
The Holy See has not officially announced Pope Leo XIV’s trip yet, as the dates must still be coordinated with the various bodies, but the itinerary and events are already being planned.
Late last week, representatives of the Spanish episcopate met to start outlining the agenda for the papal visit to Spain, which will most likely to take place before the summer.
“This is the first meeting convened by the Vatican Secretariat of State to begin planning a visit to Spain by the Holy Father. The first steps have been taken, because it is a very long process involving accreditations, requests, and dialogue with the government and all state authorities. We have begun organising, but the dates are not yet finalised. I can say that the stops will be Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands,” confirmed the Archbishop of Madrid, José Cobo, during a press conference in Rome.
The cardinal shared that the choice of these three locations “was the Pope’s personal initiative”.
The Pontiff will have the final say on the programme of the visit, although it will also depend on the Spanish government and the organisers as well.
Leo XIV received a personal invitation from King Felipe VI during their private meeting after the Mass inaugurating his pontificate.
Later, in October by the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa suggested that the Pope should visit on June 10th, for the 100th anniversary of the architect Antoni Gaudí’s death and the planned completion date for the tallest tower of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.
Organisers from Sagrada Familia itself also sent an invitation to the Pope to attend a special mass for the occasion.
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In 2024, the former Pope, Pope Francis had shared his desire to visit the Canary Islands.
“I’m thinking of going to the Canary Islands because there’s a situation with migrants arriving by sea, and I’d like to be close to the government and the people of the Canary Islands,” he said.
Therefore, it is likely that Leo XIV will want to carry out these wishes. If so, he will be the first Pope to visit the Canary Islands.
Canarian news outlets have recently reported that a visit to Gran Canaria may include a stop in La Isleta neighbourhood of the capital Las Palmas in order to visit a migrant centre there.
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The last papal visit was in 2011, when Benedict XVI travelled to Madrid to participate in World Youth Day.
Benedict visited Spain on two other occasions: the first in 2006 in Valencia to close the World Meeting of Families, and the second in 2010, when he made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona to consecrate the Sagrada Familia.
The first Pope to visit Spain was John Paul II, who came five times: in 1982, 1984, 1989, 1993, and 2003.
