MADRID, Spain — More than one million people filled the streets of Madrid on Sunday as Pope Leo XIV celebrated a massive open-air Mass during his official visit to Spain.
Okay News reports that worshippers lined major roads across the Spanish capital as the pontiff travelled through the city in his popemobile before leading the service at Plaza de Cibeles. Organisers and Vatican officials estimated that about 1.2 million people attended the event, while Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were among those present.
During his homily, Pope Leo urged Christians to demonstrate their faith through acts of compassion and service to others. He called on believers to support the poor, vulnerable and isolated, while encouraging them to see religion as a living source of guidance rather than something confined to the past.
Crowds waved Spanish and Vatican flags, cheered the pontiff’s arrival and showered flower petals along his route through the city. Authorities deployed extensive security measures for the gathering, while Madrid’s streets were decorated with banners and flowers in the colours of the Vatican flag.
The Mass came a day after Pope Leo began his week-long visit to Spain, where he praised the country’s support for migrants and its stance on global conflicts. On Saturday evening, he also addressed hundreds of thousands of young people during a prayer vigil, urging them to promote peace, reject indifference and help build a better society.
The visit, the first papal trip to Spain in about 15 years, is expected to include an address to the Spanish parliament, meetings with victims of abuse within the Catholic Church, and a visit to the Canary Islands to honour migrants who died attempting to reach Europe.
