Madrid (AFP) – A jubilant crowd of Catholic faithful filled Madrid with chants, cheers and applause on Sunday as an open-air mass by Pope Leo XIV imbued the Spanish capital with religious fervour.
Issued on: 07/06/2026 - 11:44
3 min Reading time
Cibeles Square -- best known as the rallying point for Real Madrid fans celebrating their club's titles -- was transformed into a giant communion of a different kind on day two of the pontiff's visit to Spain.A human tsunami -- numbering more than 1.2 million people according to organisers -- braved the heat. Many lay on the bare pavements from the early morning to get a better spot.Crowds lined the streets crying out "Long live the pope!" as Leo saluted the faithful from his popemobile before the mass.Laura Peralta, a 46-year-old school councillor, had travelled from the southern region of Andalusia and would not have missed an occasion of "excitement, joy, faith and love" for the world.Leo had called for an end to "polarising narratives" as a week-long state visit expected to focus on migration and social issues began on Saturday, a source of inspiration for Peralta.
Believers braved the rising temperatures and sacrificed any personal comfort by sitting and reclining on the bare pavement hours before the Mass © Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP
