What Pope Leo’s Spain visit tells us about his priorities
By Christopher Lamb, CNN
(CNN) — Pope Leo XIV arrives Saturday in Spain, where he is expected to focus on the treatment of migrants and polarization in politics – themes likely to cement his pontificate as a counterweight to the Trump administration.
The first American pope’s June 6 to 12 trip will see him visit migrant centers, address Spain’s parliament at a time of intense polarization in the country and make a visit to the iconic Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona. It’s also expected that he’ll meet clerical sexual abuse survivors.
The southern European country is something of a microcosm of the political tensions seen in the United States and beyond.
The pope was formally invited by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been a vocal opponent of US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran and has pursued a policy of welcoming immigrants. Sánchez also came to the defense of the Chicago-born pontiff after Trump criticized his stance on the war in April, with the left-wing Spanish leader saying that “while some sow wars, Leo XIV sows peace.”
Over recent weeks, the pope has continued to speak out against war, including the use of religious language to justify military conflict. He has also made immigration a priority since his election in May last year.
Leo’s first major theological document, published last month, said that the welcoming of migrants and refugees is a “litmus test” for social justice, and he’s described the treatment of immigrants in the US as “inhuman.”
The pope’s visit to Spain will see him travel to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off northwestern Africa which has become a major entry point for new arrivals to Europe. While in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, he will meet with immigrants and groups seeking to integrate them into society, and pay tribute to those who have died at sea while attempting the treacherous journey to Europe.
The visit comes a few weeks before Leo makes a July 4 trip to Lampedusa, a southern Italian island which is a key European gateway for people fleeing their own countries and crossing the Mediterranean.
Speaking ahead of the Spain visit, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said immigration was something that the pope wants to address at “a human level.” The Catholic Church in Spain has a large charitable presence and is involved in helping immigrants.
Like the US, Spain has a polarized political culture, and Leo XIV will come face-to-face with that partisanship when he becomes the first pope to address both houses of the Spanish parliament.
Sánchez’s left-wing government is facing difficulties including corruption scandals, while more conservative voices, such as the nationalist-populist right-wing party Vox, are rising in popularity.
“A government currently facing a period of accelerated political deterioration and besieged by multiple corruption scandals will seek to present itself, alongside the pope, as being on the ‘right side of history’ on issues such as opposition to the war in Iran and its migration policies,” Emilio Sáenz-Francés, professor of history and international relations at the Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, told CNN.
But, he added, “in such a context, any papal message concerning political ethics, public integrity, or corruption could easily rebound against the government rather than reinforce its position.”
Sáenz-Francés says the pope will need to deploy “considerable political intelligence” to navigate the tensions, and the success of the visit will depend on Leo’s ability to “transcend Spain’s deeply polarized environment and speak to broader concerns.”
While Sánchez is aligned with the pope’s views on war and migration, his government has also clashed with the local Catholic Church over abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and with some church voices over memorials to former dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, Spain’s nationalist leader during the country’s civil war.
But the pope, a fluent Spanish speaker, is no stranger to the country, having visited dozens of times. He is also aware of the political climate.
The pope’s knowledge of Spain is helped by his Spanish ancestry on his mother’s side and the years he worked in Peru, a country to which Catholicism was brought through Spain’s missionaries.
“Pope Leo speaks Spanish so well that nothing will be lost in translation,” Paloma García Ovejero, a former papal spokesperson who is from Madrid and now works as head of media for Catholic charity Mary’s Meals International, told CNN.
“And that’s key when you are talking about some complicated issues: polarization, immigration, friction between church and state. But he has shown that he’s not afraid to dig into delicate questions.”
Spain is the first major European visit for Leo since his election and the first papal visit to the country since 2011.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, never visited Spain, tending to bypass Europe’s traditional Catholic heartlands, but the first American pope is making it a priority.
In September, Leo will go to France, another traditionally Catholic country – although one, like its neighbor to the south, that has seen considerable secularization.
“It’s true that Spain is in part highly secularized,” García Ovejero says. “But it’s also one of the European countries with the highest church attendance.”
Spain’s deep Catholic roots will come to the fore when, after his time in Madrid, the pope visits the autonomous region of Catalonia. While in Barcelona he will visit Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família to inaugurate the church’s new Tower of Jesus Christ. Leo will celebrate a Mass in the church on the centenary of architect Gaudí’s death.
Leo’s itinerary also includes a visit to Montserrat, a place of immense spiritual and cultural significance for the Catalan region, and while there he will visit an 11th-century Benedictine monastery and have lunch with the resident monks.
The pope’s visit comes at a time when many young people in Europe are showing an interest in the church, with rising numbers of people seeking to become Catholics. Leo’s visit has generated a lot of excitement, with big crowds expected.
During his trip, the pope will hold a meeting with young people at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid football club.
Cardinal José Cobo Cano, the archbishop of Madrid, has suggested that Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper who is performing in the Spanish capital during the papal visit, could have some kind of meeting with Leo. Bad Bunny and the pope share a concern over immigration policies, with the rapper declaring “ICE out” during his February Grammy acceptance awards. His Spanish-language performance during the half-time show for the Superbowl also drew Trump’s ire.
Leo has insisted that the Catholic Church, if it wants to be a credible moral voice, must also face up to the darkness in its own past.
In his latest encyclical, the pope issued an apology for the church’s failure to condemn slavery. While in Spain, he is expected to meet with clerical abuse survivors privately, although such meetings are usually not announced in advance.
Spain has been rocked by abuse scandals, with a 2023 independent commission reporting that more than 400,000 people had been victims of abuse by clergy and lay people in church institutions going back decades.
The-CNN-Wire
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