Two people walk past a banner announcing Pope Leo XIV's upcoming trip to Spain at Lima square in Madrid, June 5. AFP-Yonhap
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo leaves on Saturday for a week-long visit to Spain, his first to an EU country outside Italy, where he will inaugurate a new tower in Barcelona's famed Sagrada Familia basilica and meet migrants who braved dangerous Atlantic waters to reach Europe.
The first American head of the Catholic Church is expected to draw large crowds on the June 6-12 trip, which also includes stops in Madrid, Montserrat Monastery and the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the west coast of Africa.
Leo, who angered U.S. President Donald Trump by criticising his anti-immigration policies, will meet on the last stop with migrants and organisations dedicated to helping them.
The situation faced by migrants is profoundly close to the pope's heart, said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican's press office. "These are people, and their stories must touch us."
