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<\/p>\n(ZENIT News \/ Vatican City, 06.17.2026).- On Wednesday, June 17, the Holy Father held his traditional general audience in St. Peter\u2019s Square before thousands of pilgrims gathered there. After touring the avenues of the square in the popemobile, Leo XIV delivered his weekly catechesis, which on this occasion was devoted to recounting his own experience of his recent visit to Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. Below is the English translation of the Supreme Pontiff\u2019s remarks:<\/p>\n
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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!<\/p>\n
Today, I would like to share some reflections on the\u00a0Apostolic Journey\u00a0I made last week to Spain, visiting Madrid, Barcelona, the Abbey of Montserrat and the Canary Islands.<\/p>\n
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After the\u00a0long Journey in four African countries, this time I found myself immersed in a European country with an ancient and very rich Catholic tradition. And it appeared evident that today in Spain, which has experienced significant social and cultural changes, the Pope was welcomed everywhere with enthusiasm and readiness to listen. For this I give thanks to God and to the entire Spanish people, the King and the civil Authorities, the Bishops and the ecclesial communities.<\/p>\n
The people of God gave me great comfort through the joyful expression of their faith and affection. For my part, I confirmed the faithful and, as Bishop of Rome, I encouraged them to overcome every form of division and conflict by always promoting communion, dialogue and unity in diversity. This is the very service of the Successor of Peter, a service which finds a specific expression in Apostolic Journeys, each time adapted to the ecclesial and social situations of the countries visited.<\/p>\n
With regard to Spain, I was able to observe with joy that\u00a0 people of all ages and situations had been looking forward to the Pope\u2019s visit. I found multitudes [of people] everywhere, who welcomed me with great warmth. This was not something that was\u00a0 taken for granted, and is worthy of reflection. Naturally such participation expresses, first of all, as I said, the faith of the Spanish people. At the same time, I believe it reveals a widespread need to find unity based on a true and deep foundation, one that is neither ideological nor based on partial interests \u2014 a foundation which, ultimately, can only be ensured by Christ, and is conveyed in the lives of people by the Gospel, through the necessary \u201cinculturation\u201d.\u00a0 It can do so because its message fully responds to both these needs: the search for truth and the thirst for justice.<\/p>\n
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In\u00a0Madrid\u00a0and\u00a0Barcelona, we gathered in the great Cathedral as well as in modern stadiums.\u00a0We prayed the holy Rosary at the Abbey of Montserrat.\u00a0We celebrated [Mass] at the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia\u00a0\u2014 a majestic symbol, a symphony of stones and light that speaks to everyone of the Christian mystery. This encounter of ancient and modern, Catholic tradition and contemporary culture enabled me to perceive first-hand the very character of Europe, its inestimable wealth, as a living reality, not a thing of the past. It is a heritage to be safeguarded with care, so that it may be invested in today\u2019s global world with its momentous challenges: peace, integral ecology, equitable and sustainable development, and respect for human dignity. They are challenges that the\u00a0Second Vatican Council\u00a0had already clearly recognized, and to which the subsequent Magisterium returned, up to my recent Encyclical,\u00a0Magnifica Humanitas, which aims to safeguard the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Through the various meetings, I sensed a need to hear from the Pope\u2019s voice, the Gospel of hope for today\u2019s humanity, which is sorely tried by the negative consequences of a deceptive model of development. I recognized this need, which found expression in the many testimonies I was able to listen to \u2014 testimonies that were sometimes moving, sometimes edifying \u2014 also and above all in the faces of the little ones and the poor whom I met:\u00a0\u00a0the child who read his letter\u00a0to me in the parish;\u00a0 some victims of abuse, who ask to be heard;\u00a0\u00a0the inmates who were waiting for me in the prison;\u00a0\u00a0the young people filled with anxiety and aspirations;\u00a0 the migrants in the reception centres in the Canary Islands.<\/p>\n
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It was precisely there, in the Canary Islands \u2014 the final stop of the Journey \u2014 that I was offered a comprehensive insight. It was offered to me, on the one hand, by the very geographical location of that archipelago; and, on the other, by the reality of a local Church which welcomes a large number of forced migrants,\u00a0 mainly from Africa. We know that the\u00a0\u00a0 migration phenomenon is complex and requires organic and coordinated action plans. But this interpretation opens up a different, broader perspective: it enables us to understand how we are called to reread the Gospel in today\u2019s world, exchanging the gifts of our respective cultures with each other, and in particular, the results produced in them by the fruitfulness of Christ\u2019s message. And one of these fruits is precisely\u00a0 dialogue between people and between peoples, an encounter in the spirit of fraternity, which enables us to discover and appreciate one another\u2019s values. This journey is not easy. It requires goodwill and God\u2019s help, but it is the path that leads to the civilization of love.<\/p>\n
Dear brothers and sisters, the motto of this Apostolic Journey was \u201cAlzad la mirada\u201d, \u201cLift up your gaze!\u201d (cf. Jn 4:35).\u00a0 Jesus addressed these words to his first disciples, to teach them to see the desire for life, truth and fullness in people and in the crowds.\u00a0 The Lord repeats those words to me first, and by his grace I also experienced them during this Journey. Today, I would like to share this invitation with you: let us lift up our gaze! Let us learn from Jesus to look at our neighbour, at people and at the world, \u201cthrough God\u2019s eyes\u201d, that is, with love, respect and compassion.<\/p>\n
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Finally, I want to thank all those who prayed for the success of this Apostolic Journey, especially the contemplative nuns, who, thanks be to God, are very numerous in Spain. Continue to pray, so that, by the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the seeds I scattered may bear abundant fruit. Thank you!<\/p>\n
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