Pope to find a secularized, polarized Spain where the Catholic Church has a complex legacy

Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)Antoni Gaud’s Basilica of the Sagrada Familia stands at dusk in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, May 30, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Barcelona in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)FILE – Migrants disembark at the port of “La Estaca” in Valverde on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Aug. 26, 2024. Emergency services said the migrants arrived by boat after a 13-day voyage from Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)