How many police officers will shield the Pope's visit? This is what is known so far about the security device

MadridFor months, a week in June has been circled in red in Madrid: from the 6th to the 12th. It is an event that is on the social but also political agenda, to the point that it is speculated that Juanma Moreno Bonilla decided to move forward the Andalusian elections so as not to coincide with the election campaign. It is about the visit of Pope Leo XIV to the State, where he will stop in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. This Monday, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, presided over the general meeting of the security device in Madrid, in which the director of the police, Josep Lluís Trapero, also participated. As the minister explained in statements to the media, collected by the ACN, the visit will involve the deployment of 11,000 national police officers, in addition to 2,200 Civil Guard agents. In a few hours, the Mossos d'Esquadra have also committed to reporting on their device. Taking into account the context in which the pontiff's trip is taking place, Marlaska asserted that it involves

“We have the means and all the professional capacity to guarantee that the visit will be a success”, defended the minister, asserting that Spain wants to become a benchmark for international security in this regard. He cited the organization of the NATO summit in Madrid in 2022 as an example. Also in Barcelona, last month, the progressive summit for democracy took place with numerous heads of state and government officials.

The Pope's schedule

The Pope's agenda is still to be finalized, but Marlaska has asserted that the main challenge will be the influx of parishioners. Furthermore, in the case of Madrid, it coincides with the Bad Bunny concerts on the same weekend, which makes it even more difficult to combine the two security devices. One of the few concrete details on the table is that on Sunday, June 7, the pontiff will preside over Holy Mass in Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles and, subsequently, the Corpus Christi procession.

The context is one of maximum international attention. Just this week, Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, is visiting the Vatican after the clash between the Pope and Donald Trump, as the pontiff has spoken out against the conflict in the Middle East. In this regard, the highest representative of the church has become a role model for progressives, even though traditionally the right has been closer to the church. Pedro Sánchez's own government has positioned him as a benchmark.

Within the State, the church has also been a protagonist in the political battle in recent weeks. It has sided with the extraordinary regularization of migrants, which has led to a clash with the PP and Vox. The love affair with the far-right has especially ended due to policies of "national priority" or the veto of subsidies to organizations like Cáritas that work with migrants.