Hundreds of thousands of people lined Madrid's streets on Sunday morning to witness Pope Leo's procession to an open-air Mass, an event anticipated to be the largest during his June 6-12 visit to Spain.
From raised hands and fluttering flags to calls of "Long live the pope," the crowd greeted Leo as he passed in the popemobile down Paseo de la Castellana toward Cibeles Square, the site where he was due to preside over the Mass. On arrival in the square some in the crowd threw flower petals as a sign of welcome.
The visit began on Saturday with a series of engagements focused on marginalized groups. Leo met with migrants and people experiencing homelessness, and he took part in a vigil attended by roughly 600,000 young people in Madrid. Over the remaining days of his trip he is scheduled to visit Barcelona and the Canary Islands, where he will meet migrants who have crossed from West Africa.
Speaking about the purpose of the visit, which is his first to a European Union country outside Italy, Leo expressed a desire for it to serve as an example in treating "every human being" with respect and urged political leaders to avoid deepening divisions within electorates.
Among those in the crowd was Andrea Margarita, a 72-year-old Peruvian who arrived in Spain six months earlier. Waiting in the crowd in a wheelchair alongside her daughter, she said she welcomed the pope's prayers for migrants and for their safety.
Following the Mass, Leo's schedule called for a private afternoon meeting with fellow members of his Augustinian religious order. Later, he was due to appear at a central Madrid concert venue to meet figures from the worlds of entertainment, sport and culture.
Context and logistics
The sequence of public liturgical ceremonies, private religious meetings and cultural engagements underscores the range of audiences the pope intends to reach during his week-long stay. The Madrid Mass, attended by a very large public turnout, represented a focal point of the trip's public events.