Overview
- Pope Leo will travel to Spain from June 6–12 for a week of public events that include addresses to political leaders and meetings with migrants in the Canary Islands.
- His itinerary includes a Mass at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, a rare address to the Spanish parliament and visits to Madrid, Montserrat and Gran Canaria and Tenerife migrant centres.
- The visit centers on migration because the Atlantic route has seen large loss of life, with the IOM reporting 1,172 dead or missing in 2025 and NGO Caminando Fronteras estimating more than 3,000 deaths.
- The trip takes place against a charged political backdrop as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government rolls out a mass regularisation programme for an estimated 500,000 migrants and faces strong criticism from the far-right Vox party; Spanish authorities have deployed large police forces and accredited more than 4,000 journalists.
- Plans for meetings with clergy sexual-abuse survivors are unclear with Reuters reporting a likely private encounter while the Vatican programme and AFP make no mention of such meetings, leaving survivor engagement unresolved before the visit.