The Madrid chapter of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic visit to Spain has come to a close.
With the pontiff now heading to Barcelona, attention turns to the messages that marked the opening days of his apostolic visit to Spain.
His days in the Spanish capital produced a number of memorable messages that helped set the tone for the visit, offering reflections on faith, society, and the challenges facing the Church today.
These are are 10 quotes that stood out from his time in Madrid.
June 6:
1. Greeting to Journalists on the flight from Rome to Madrid
“An Apostolic Journey is an opportunity to meet the faithful, to celebrate the faith and to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. But at the same time, it is also an occasion to greet everyone, the whole of society, because the Church has a message for all people, as you may have seen, I believe, very clearly in the Encyclical Letter that was published on the 25th of May.”
2. Meeting with Authorities, Civil Society, and the Diplomatic Corps
“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated. This is why we need culture, interiority, and free quality education; we need transcendence.”
3. Visit to the Staff and Beneficiaries of the “Cedia 24 Horas Social Project”
“Madrid is also famous for the nativity scenes that adorn the city during the Christmas season. Their beauty, however, is but a pale reflection of an even greater and deeper wonder, which we find here today. The lights, voices and sounds that touch our hearts and bring tears to our eyes during the Christmas season are, in reality, carried within us, with us and among us throughout the year. Today they are more alive and radiant than ever in this place, around this simple and welcoming ‘nativity scene’ which, with God’s help, you continue to prepare day by day — or literally day and night — for Jesus, present in the people who come to the Center’s doorstep in search of help.”
4. Prayer Vigil with Young People
“I want to entrust all of you the mission to be truly human. Yes, be human: men and women of flesh and blood! Not mere appearances, but trustworthy faces. People who seek justice because they hunger for it, as for their daily bread. People who desire an honest and upright life, because they gladly do to others what they would like others to do to them. Be human as Christ is human, the perfect man, the risen One who shares history with us in every age.”
June 7:
5. Holy Mass in Plaza de Cibeles
“Herein lies the task of Spain today and in the future: to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today: A school that teaches us to kneel before God and before our neighbor, because no one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother; A school that teaches us of the gratitude of love that becomes a gift, so that it may flow among us and break the chains of all selfishness; A school from which we learn that God is a real presence and that we too are called to be present in the realities and challenges of society, not shying away, but personally committing ourselves to the building of the common good.”
6. Meeting “Building Networks with the World of Culture, Art, Economy and Sport”
“The desire for goodness, beauty and truth is rooted in the very DNA of humanity. It is on the basis of this profoundly human aspiration and our centuries-old experience that the Church proposes paths toward a life of dignity and the common good. In this regard, Saint Paul VI affirmed before the United Nations that, whatever one’s opinion of the Roman Pontiff may be, his mission is well known. As an ‘expert in humanity,’ the Church does not turn a blind eye to anything truly human.”
June 8:
7. Meeting with Members of the Spanish Parliament
“If life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have? Can a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just? The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization. Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence. When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person. For this reason, the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile.”
8. Meeting with the Bishops of Spain
“Only by gathering all the good that exists in our own heritage, with each of us doing our part, can we build a new reality in which faith can take deep root. Naturally, to make this happen, we must begin by learning the language of the other, initiating processes and weaving bonds where we can sow the seed of the kingdom.”
9. Prayer and Devotion to Our Lady of Almudena
“This millennia-old Marian devotion, so cherished by all of you, is a sign of the Christian roots that characterize you and give you life, but also of the great hope which continues to motivate you to move forward. It was thanks to a collapsed wall that the Mother was reunited with her people. This event is providential, because it points to the path that Jesus, through his Most Holy Mother, invites us to follow. Initially, when a wall collapses, it makes a clamor, creating chaos and disorder. However, it also opens up spaces, restores possibilities and fosters renewal. In our societies today, there are still many walls that do not protect but rather divide, separate and isolate. At times, we prefer the comfort of merely shoring them up and, more often than not, simply ignoring them, because we fear that tearing them down will mean having to face situations that we would rather avoid.”
10. Meeting with the Diocesan Community at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
“There is, therefore, a special relationship between the Church and the city, one made even more important by the epochal change we are living through: a relationship that naturally takes shape among real people in workplaces and neighborhoods, but also within various communities, associations, and local realities. Increasingly, the distinctive nature of the Christian mission emerges within large urban settings, where ‘a new culture pulses and takes shape.’ Clarity on this point has matured greatly through the synodal journey, which has enabled us to know and listen to one another more deeply within the contexts in which the diocesan community lives and takes form”
[Photo Credit: Ballesteros/EFE]
Claire is a Filipina global IT professional, residing in Portugal with her husband, Pedro Gabriel. She provides multimedia support, coverage and website maintenance.
She wrote articles for Where Peter Is and Ignitum Today, and provided special news coverage for Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News Media during Pope Francis´s 2015 papal visit in the Philippines.
She was an accredited press corps member for the press coverage of World Youth Day Lisbon 2023. She was active in Catholic apologetics and pro-life initiatives back in the Philippines.
She is currently covering the 16th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (2-27 October 2024).
She is currently taking journalism classes at the London School of Journalism. She is a member of the International Association of Religion Journalists.
