The Vatican is planning a potential Pope Spain visit in 2026, coinciding with the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death.Your browser does not support the video tag.Preparations are reportedly underway.
Pope Spain Visit: Planning and Preparations
Preparations are reportedly underway for Pope Leo XIV to visit Spain in 2026. Official sources within the Archdiocese of Madrid have confirmed that the Archbishop of Madrid, José Cobo.The Archbishop of Barcelona, Joan Josep Omella, are scheduled to meet next Friday, 9 January, at the Vatican Secretariat of State. However, they will discuss the details of the visit. The President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), the Archbishop of Valladolid, Luis Argüello, is also expected to participate in this meeting, as confirmed by CEE sources. Meanwhile, it’s understood that the Spanish cardinals will arrive in Rome two days prior to this meeting. They’ll be participating in a meeting with cardinals from around the world convened by Pope Leo XIV on 7 and 8 January. This gathering will focus on the future of the Church and the challenges facing the new Pope’s pontificate. After that, Cobo, Omella and Argüello will stay an extra day at the Vatican to participate in this summit regarding the pontiff’s future visit to the country.
Gaudí Centenary and Potential Itinerary
The primary proposal suggests that the Pope will visit Madrid and Barcelona in June. This would coincide with the centenary of the death of the architect Antoni Gaudí. However, it’s not ruled out that the pontiff – whose mother has Spanish roots – could extend the visit to other cities in Spain, such as Santiago de Compostela. Toledo – whose cathedral commemorates its eighth centenary in 2026 – Valladolid.Alba de Tormes, where the remains of Saint Teresa of Jesus rest, are also possibilities. While awaiting official confirmation from the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV, who holds both American and Peruvian nationality, had already expressed his desire to visit his ancestral homeland to Spanish journalists during his first trip to Turkey and Lebanon in late 2025. However, “You can have more than hope,” the pontiff confessed. He speaks Spanish fluently and has travelled to Spain on numerous occasions as the Superior General of the Order of Saint Augustine. Before becoming Pope, Robert Prevost visited Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Bilbao, Valladolid, León and Ávila. Meanwhile, following his appointment as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2024, he returned to Ávila to visit the birthplace of Saint Teresa of Jesus. Additionally, there, he recorded his visit in the guest book. During the inaugural mass of his pontificate, celebrated on 18 May, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain conveyed their desire to see the Pope in Spain soon.
Invitations and Significance of the Event
A formal invitation was later extended through the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, whom Prevost received at the Vatican on 1 October. The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Almeida, also held a private audience with the Pope in December. However, it has been 16 years since the last papal visit to Barcelona. Meanwhile, in 2010, Benedict XVI travelled to the Catalan capital for the consecration of Gaudí’s Sagrada Família as a minor basilica. On that occasion, the German Pope also took the opportunity to visit Santiago de Compostela during the Xacobeo Year. Additionally, during his eight-year pontificate, Joseph Ratzinger visited Spain two more times. In fact, in 2006, he attended the World Meeting of Families in Valencia.In 2011, he travelled to Madrid for World Youth Day. Also, pope Francis never set foot in Spain. Throughout his nearly fifty trips around the world, the Argentinian pontiff chose to visit the peripheries of the world and countries where Christians were a minority. However, in the months before his death last April, Francis confirmed his intention to travel to the Canary Islands to learn first-hand about the reality of African immigration. However, a wish he was unable to fulfil.
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