Pope Leo XIV will visit Barcelona in June for the centenary of Gaudí's death

BarcelonaThe Pope will visit Barcelona and celebrate Mass to inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia. As confirmed by the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), Leo XIV will arrive in Spain between June 6 and 12, "accepting the invitation of King Felipe VI and the Church to Spain." Fifteen years after the last papal visit to the country—Benedict XVI visited in 2011, but Francis died last April without doing so—Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has confirmed that Leo XIV will visit Barcelona, ​​Madrid, and the Canary Islands (specifically Tenerife and Gran Canaria). Although the dates and schedule for each trip have not yet been finalized, both the CEE and the Catalan government (Generalitat) assume that the Pope will arrive first in Madrid and then visit the Catalan capital on June 9 and 10. The reason for the Pope's visit to Barcelona will be the inauguration of "the new and tallest tower of the Sagrada Familia," on the centenary of the death of "the brilliant architect who dreamed of the basilica and began its construction, Antoni Gaudí," who passed away on June 10, 192. In statements to Ràdio Estel, the Archbishop of Barcelona, ​​Cardinal Juan José Omella, expressed his satisfaction with Pope Leo XIV's visit to Barcelona: "It is a joy, and we thank the Pope for inaugurating the tower of Jesus Christ, which is the tallest of all the churches in the world." The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, also described the Pope's visit this June as "great news" for the Christian community and Catalan society as a whole, and thanked Leo XIV for his "gesture" in wanting to participate in the events planned for the centenary of Gaudí's death. "We will receive him with open arms," ​​he asserted, adding that the new pontiff represents "universal human values" such as solidarity. In this regard, Isla referred to a visit on June 9th, confirming that the religious authority (CEE) and the Balearic Government are aware that the trip to Barcelona will take place on June 9th and 10th.

The Pope will also visit Madrid and the Canary Islands, a visit that his predecessor, Francis, had already considered due to the islands' importance as a migration route, but which he was unable to make. This trip to Spain will be the fourth international visit during the still brief pontificate of Leo XIV, following his visit to Turkey and Lebanon from November 27th to December 2nd, 2015, and two others announced this Wednesday by the Vatican: on March 28th in Monaco and from April 13th to 23rd in Equatorial Guinea.

Also in Madrid and the Canary Islands

On January 9th, the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) and Archbishop of Valladolid, Luis Argüello, and Cardinals José Cobo and Juan José Omella, Archbishops of Madrid and Barcelona, ​​respectively, met with the Vatican Secretariat of State in Rome to discuss the Pope's possible visit to Spain. A few days ago, Isla also said in an interview on La 2 that it was "unofficially" "taken for granted" that the Pope would come. "They say it will be on June 9th and 10th, and I think it's a very important visit," he stated. Isla then said that "in principle" there will be two Masses, one of them at the Sagrada Familia for the completion of the Tower of Jesus. Omella also explained how he had already held talks with Pope Francis about the possibility of completing the tower's construction in 2026, coinciding with the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death. Based on the schedule of other papal trips to Spain, the itinerary could include a Mass, a meeting with young people, or visits to specific groups such as consecrated women, seminarians, the cultural sector, or the Church's charitable work. Leo XIV, who also holds Peruvian nationality due to his years as a bishop and missionary in the Andean country, had already expressed his desire to visit Spain; a country he visited several times before his election in the May 2025 conclave and where he has maternal roots.