BARCELONA, Spain — On the second stop of his weeklong tour of Spain, Pope Leo opened a prayer service in Barcelona Tuesday with remarks in Catalan, seen by many as a gesture of recognition of the language’s cultural significance in Catalonia.
The pope arrived to lead a service of prayer at noon, and thousands gathered outside Barcelona’s historic cathedral. As he greeted the crowd, supporters waved flags and cheered.
Pope Leo started his homily by saying “Estimats germans i germanes” (“Dear brothers and sisters”) and spoke in Catalan to the congregation, a language that is closely tied to Catalan identity and which is spoken in most schools, churches and public institutions in the region.
Regional leaders had hoped the pontiff would speak in Catalan during his visit. After decades of restrictions during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, which ended in 1975, it has become a symbol of regional identity.
The visit comes years after Spain’s worst constitutional crisis in decades, when Catalonia’s push for independence in 2017. Support for independence remains strong , but the movement has been losing momentum in recent years and the region is now governed by a non-separatist administration .
Pope Leo Monday called for respect for diversity, saying a nation's “moral greatness” should be measured by how it treats migrants and other vulnerable groups, in a speech to Spain’s parliament in Madrid. The pope has repeatedly warned that the international order is facing additional strain due to global conflicts and humanitarian crises.
Leo is due to meet Catalan regional leaders later Tuesday and join a prayer vigil with young people at Barcelona’s Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.
Wednesday is expected to be a highlight of the visit when the pope travels to the Montserrat Abbey and takes part in ceremonies linked to the Sagrada Família basilica. The event will also celebrate the legacy of architect Antoni Gaudí, who is recognised worldwide for his work and whose cause for sainthood is progressing in the Catholic Church.
Abuse victims and advocacy organisations have also focused on the pope’s schedule. On Monday, he met six victims of clergy sexual abuse in Spain. Some survivors cited in a 2023 report from Spain’s human rights ombudsman into historic abuse in the country’s Catholic institutions have criticised his planned visit to the Montserrat Abbey.
In 2019, the abbot of Montserrat publicly apologised to victims who were abused at the abbey’s school.
Pope Leo’s visit to Spain will end on Friday in Spain’s Canary Islands, where he is expected to meet migrants who took the Atlantic route from Africa to Europe. Earlier this week, the pontiff told parliament that “the ethical foundation of the international order” is being tested by a lack of sufficient support for migrants.
