Flying from Spain’s capital of Madrid to Barcelona 9 June, Pope Leo XIV shifted his focus to the deeper and darker existential questions punctuating human life.
In Madrid – the seat of government, the monarchy and finance as well as home to world-famous art, culture and sport – the pope highlighted the gifts that Spain and its people already possess; saying they need to work together in their diversity to protect human dignity in order to thrive and address the many political, economic and social challenges they face.
From the political centre of Spain, Pope Leo traveled to Barcelona, the country’s second-largest city and the capital of Catalonia, a region with a distinct language and culture that has long been home to a movement seeking greater autonomy or independence from Spain.
Tensions escalated in 2017 after Catalan leaders organised an independence referendum that Madrid opposed and Spanish courts later ruled unconstitutional.
His remarks throughout his time in Barcelona built on a broader message: that human dignity does not depend on success, productivity or a flawless past, and that God does not abandon people in suffering or define them by their mistakes.
