Overview
- José Manuel Albares, who met Vatican officials Monday, also received an unexpected 20-minute audience with Pope León XIV and handed over Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s invitation.
- After talks with Paul Richard Gallagher, Albares said the Vatican’s foreign minister viewed Spain’s proposed extraordinary migrant regularization as positive, while he did not raise the measure with the Pope.
- Albares described a broad alignment with the Holy See on human dignity, migrants’ rights, rejection of war, and support for international law and dialogue.
- The papal trip is scheduled for June 6–12 with stops in Madrid, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, and the Canary Islands, and officials said the full program will be published soon.
- ABC noted that protocol typically assigns head‑of‑state invitations to King Felipe VI, who has already invited the Pope, while the Canary Islands stop is expected to spotlight Spain’s migration front line.