Pope Leo XIV greets the people from the popemobile after presiding over the meeting "Weaving networks with the world of Culture, Education, Business and Sport," at the Movistar Arena in Madrid on Sunday. Photo by Fernando Villar/EPA
June 7 (UPI) -- Pope Leo drew more than 1 million people to an open-air mass in Madrid on Sunday morning to start his week-long visit to Spain.
The mass, to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, was held in the Plaza de Cibeles and saw the Pontiff ride through the 1.2 million strong crowd that overflowed into nearby streets to the stage where he performed mass, The Guardian and The BBC reported.
Pope Leo arrived in Madrid on Saturday to start the visit, the first time in 15 years that a Pope has spent time in Spain, and was greeted with fanfare and Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
Along with the mass, Pope Leo had plans on Sunday to meet with the members of the Order of St. Augustine and attend a gathering of Spanish representatives of the country's culture, arts, business and sports.