![\"Young](\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/content\/dam\/vaticannews\/agenzie\/images\/srv\/2026\/06\/09\/2026-06-09-viaggio-apostolico-in-spagna---veglia-di-preghiera-al\/1781033175330.JPG\/_jcr_content\/renditions\/cq5dam.thumbnail.cropped.750.422.jpeg\" "\\"Young")
<\/p>\nOn the fourth day of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, Pope Leo XIV closed his time in Madrid meeting volunteers before taking a short flight to the northeast part of the country: Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Kielce Gussie \u2013 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria<\/p>\n
To conclude his time in Spain\u2019s capital city, Pope Leo spent his last morning in Madrid meeting with volunteers who dedicated their time to help others truly live his visit and he offered them his heartfelt gratitude.<\/p>\n
The Pope highlighted their generosity in responding quickly to the call for assistance. \u201cEach of you gave what you could, offering your heart, hands, ideas, talents and smiles,\u201d he said. \u201cMay God reward you as only He knows how!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Leo urged all Christians to bring the \u201cleaven of selflessness\u201d to everyone. \u201cSelflessness is like leaven that makes the human, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of a society grow, and it is a distinctive element of the \u2018City of God\u2019,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Part two begins <\/p>\n
Around noon, Pope Leo arrived at his second destination of the Apostolic Journey: Barcelona. At the city\u2019s Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, he began with midday prayer after being met with crowds along the streets.<\/p>\n
Using his love and knowledge of languages, the Pope delivered his homily in a mixture of Catalan and Spanish and invited everyone to reflect on the images of the Bride and the Body. He highlighted how Barcelona\u2019s Catholic community\u2014rich in a diversity of gifts, charisms, and personal stories\u2014is an example of the image of the Bride.<\/p>\n
Moreover, we are all one body in Christ. Just as in a body, \u201cthere are members who are stronger and others who are weaker\u201d. Some members of the Church are visible in their work and others more hidden.<\/p>\n
In light of this, he challenged everyone to make unity a priority. \u201cWe are strong because we are united, and we are united because we are animated by the same Spirit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018We are made for the infinite\u2019 <\/p>\n
On his first evening in Barcelona, Pope Leo met with young people at the Llu\u00eds Companys Olympic Stadium and listened to three testimonies, which reflected on themes of conversion, mental health, violence, and suffering.<\/p>\n
Then the Pope took time to respond to each of them.<\/p>\n
To Ferran, who spoke of an emptiness despite worldly success, Pope Leo stressed that \u201cwe are made for the infinite. That is why every finite horizon, every step, every achievement – while satisfying us – also propels us forward and invites us to keep searching.\u201d<\/p>\n
He urged Ferran and all young people to \u201clook within\u201d and to avoid being overwhelmed with life\u2019s fast pace.<\/p>\n
To Carmina, who recounted her struggle with depression, Pope Leo highlighted how \u201cthis is a sign that there is something deeply wrong with a certain notion of progress that subjects people to pressures, expectations and tensions that compromise healthy balances.\u201d He encouraged her to look to Christ\u2019s Passion in \u201cthose dark hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Young people listening to Pope Leo’s words at the Llu\u00eds Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona \u00a0 (@Vatican Media)\n <\/p>\n
Finally, speaking to Cecilia, who had lived through domestic violence, addiction, and separation from her family, the Pope turned to forgiveness. “We must learn to view forgiveness – that powerful remedy for evil that heals our inner wounds – as part of a process and a journey”, he said.<\/p>\n
Reflect honestly <\/p>\n
In a homily after speaking to young people, the Pope looked at modern day Spain and urged everyone to honestly reflect on the challenges of today\u2019s society, including poverty, social division and cultural change, asking them to think about what kind of future they want to create together.<\/p>\n
The Pope explained \u201cthis country may then be a welcoming space for all, where each person\u2019s dignity is respected and everyone loved for who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the fourth day of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, Pope Leo XIV closed his time in Madrid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,6500,17,2282],"class_list":["post-37739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-prayer","tag-spain","tag-young-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}