Over 1.2 million faithful flock to Madrid for Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV
Al Jazeera Staff
On June 7, around 1.2 million people filled Madrid's Cibeles Square for a Mass led by Pope Leo XIV. The crowd, waving flags and chanting, braved hot weather to welcome the pontiff during his week-long tour of Spain and the Canary Islands.
On June 7, a sea of people flooded the streets of Madrid, cheering, applauding, and chanting to welcome Pope Leo XIV on the second day of his week-long apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.
According to the Vatican and local organizers, about 1.2 million people braved the scorching heat to gather at Cibeles Square on Sunday, expected to be the largest event of the Pope's visit to the country.
The crowd packed along barriers near the square—famous as a gathering point for Real Madrid football fans celebrating team titles—waving flags and chanting "Long live the Pope" as Leo XIV arrived in a white popemobile. Some threw rose petals to mark his arrival.
"May Madrid continue to be a welcoming and inclusive city, where social life is inspired by genuine human values," the Pope wrote in the guestbook after receiving the keys to the city from the mayor.
Leo XIV began his trip on Saturday, meeting migrants and homeless people, and attending a vigil with about 600,000 young people in Madrid. The journey from June 6 to 12 also includes stops in Barcelona and the Canary Islands, where he will meet migrants and refugees who risked their lives crossing from West Africa.
The Pope expressed hope that this visit—his first to an EU country outside Italy—would be an example to the world of respecting "every person," and called on leaders to stop dividing voters.
"I am very happy that he prays for us migrants and for our safety," said Andrea Margarita, 72, a Peruvian who arrived in Spain six months ago, sitting in a wheelchair with her daughter waiting in the crowd.
After Mass, Leo XIV was scheduled to have a private meeting with fellow Augustinian members in the afternoon, before meeting figures from entertainment, sports, and culture at a concert venue in central Madrid.
