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Pope Francis never made a papal visit to Spain, one of the capitals of European Catholicism, preferring instead to draw attention to the world’s marginalized populations. He turned down invitations from Spain’s king, its prime ministers and even a Spanish reporter who enticed him with a gift of soil from every region of the country. Francis was not enticed. He would go “when there is peace,” he cryptically said.
Now, just over a year after succeeding Francis, Pope Leo XIV will on Saturday visit Spain, his first major European destination since he became pontiff in May 2025.
Francis never clarified what he meant by “peace,” whether it alluded to tensions in the country or the church, or just organizational chaos. But Leo has anyway decided to take the leap into one of Europe’s most politically polarized countries as war rages on several continents and his recent confrontations with President Trump are still raw. The weeklong trip may invite further hostility from the White House by bringing together Leo and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain, two of President Trump’s biggest international critics on Iran and migration.
The visit will showcase the balancing act of Leo’s young pontificate. On the one hand, he is a conciliator, extending an olive branch to conservatives — and countries — who felt Francis’s cold shoulder. He is expected to emphasize unity in the first-ever address by a pope to the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, a capital with a history of dictatorship within living memory and a present torn apart by political polarization.
On the other hand, the visit gives Leo, the first American pope, another chance to present himself as a change agent and global figure. After recently finding his voice by standing up to the Trump administration and multinational corporations developing artificial intelligence, Leo will be visiting a country crossed with political and historical tripwires, where a papal misstep could trigger harsh feelings and damage the fledgling papacy.
Spain is also an increasingly vibrant country that has emerged as a European outlier for liberal policies, including welcoming immigrants, which is in sync with Leo’s own vision. And by speaking fluently in Spanish, Leo, formerly a bishop in Peru who has Peruvian citizenship, will wield an international megaphone that will be heard far beyond the borders of both Spain and the Anglophone world.
“It’s a platform,” Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid said in an interview before Leo’s arrival.
Leo’s visit will have plenty of the standard papal stuff. He will meet King Felipe VI and focus on how to nurture Catholicism in Spain, which, despite the country’s number of self-identifying Catholics plummeting over the past 15 years, is registering a rare uptick in spirituality.
Leo is also expected to draw attention to the church’s landmarks, this time blessing a newly completed tower at the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona. Thanks to the tower, it is now the world’s tallest church.
Spain also offers Leo a chance to soothe historical grievances with the Catholic Church.
In the past, the Spanish church acted as an essential ally of the Franco regime, which ruled Spain until the 1970s. Even in this century’s now-settled battles over issues like gay marriage, the church was a major element of polarization. Francis instead seeded the Spanish hierarchy with new bishops and cardinals who emphasized pastoral leadership over waging war on cultural issues, and Leo is expected to continue in his footsteps.
His address in Parliament then will be a key moment for him “to reflect on how the relationship between Church and State, Church and politics” has been transformed in Spain, said Joseba Louzao, the author of “A Brief History of the Catholic Church in Spain.”
That unifying approach will probably give politicians from across the ideological spectrum the opportunity to interpret Leo how they see fit, Mr. Louzao said.
“There is a temptation there,” Mr. Louzao said, “for all political parties to try to use the words of Pope Leo.”
Yet Leo is still expected to offer plenty of ammunition to critics from all backgrounds. The pope is likely to discuss issues that infuriate the left, such as the church’s opposition to abortion, among other subjects that progressive Catholics have called the “pelvic issues” that the church long obsessed over. Some far-left lawmakers have even said they will boycott the pope’s address.
Separately, the church’s emphasis on social justice has put some Spanish right-wing leaders in a position of claiming to be more Catholic than the pope.
At the end of his visit, Leo will visit the Canary Islands to meet with migrants, foregrounding an issue that has enraged Spain’s right wing. While many European countries have closed their doors to immigrants, Spain has opened them up.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right party Vox, once disparagingly referred to Francis by his surname, calling him “Citizen Bergoglio” to express opposition to his pro-migrant policies.
That approach continued after Leo became pope, as Vox attacked Spanish bishops over their welcoming position toward migrants.
Mr. Abascal’s interpretation of Catholicism offers another potential flashpoint with Leo. Mr. Abascal has tried to appeal to Catholic voters by emphasizing opposition to abortion, gay rights and promoting traditional Spanish family values.
Privately, Leo has told Spanish bishops that he opposes people politicizing the faith. In a November meeting between top Spanish prelates and the pope in the Vatican, Leo expressed concern about ideological forces in Spain exploiting Catholic voters for their own political gain.
“It worries us that they want to approach the Catholic sphere to get votes,” said Cardinal Cobo of Madrid, who was at the meeting and was among several attendees who described it in an interview. He said that he did not know if Leo was singling out Vox, though he added, “Whoever feels targeted is because they are the ones doing it.”
Luis Argüello, archbishop of Valladolid, also attended the meeting and confirmed that they “spoke about the political situation of polarization and confrontation occurring in Spain.” Leo, he said, discussed his experience of polarization in the United States and “spoke about the risk of faith being used by ideologies.”
Bishops, politicians and analysts expect Leo to confront that tension in his address to Parliament, which Mr. Abascal of Vox has said he plans to attend.
“The pope is a global moral reference point,” said Joan Planellas, the archbishop of Tarragona, “in times when there is a lack of reference points.”
Francis played a similarly clarifying role in a world where strongman politics were spreading. But by skipping Spain — and by ambiguously saying that he would only go when there was “peace” — Francis also sowed confusion.
“That is one of those magnificent phrases that Pope Francis would throw out,” said Cardinal Cobo, who was appointed by Francis. “Where afterward everyone would say, ‘Is it because of me? Is it about me?’”
Leo, he said, is turning out to be more direct than his Argentine predecessor. Early in his tenure, the new pope privately promised to visit Spain — and swiftly made good on that pledge, Cardinal Cobo said.
“That’s why I say, ‘This one isn’t Argentine,’” the cardinal added.
Carlos Barragán contributed reporting.
