Barcelona (AFP) – Six-sevening crowds and joking about Bad Bunny, AI and football rivalries -- 70-year-old Pope Leo XIV has appealed to a younger crowd during his visit to Spain as part of his efforts to revive the Catholic Church.
Issued on: 10/06/2026 - 13:04
3 min Reading time
On popemobile rides, the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics has frequently been seen doing the 6-7 hand gesture -- a reference to a meme that has spread like wildfire on social media and is popular with teens.Along with the masses and institutional events, there have also been multiple meetings with young people where the pope has used more down-to-earth language and spoken about topical issues like mental health.The pontiff, fluent in Spanish, also held a private meeting with Puerto Rican music superstar Bad Bunny, just after addressing a crowd of 80,000 people at Real Madrid's famed Bernabeu stadium.On the plane to Madrid, the pope had joked about facing competition from Bad Bunny who was giving concerts in the Spanish capital at the same time."If they are confronted with the question 'Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?' I think many will see Bad Bunny."But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something," he told reporters.'Spontaneous moments'"He's clearly making an effort to reach out to young people," said US Vatican expert Elise Ann Allen, who has written a biography of the pope.But she said there were also many "spontaneous moments" -- like when the football-mad pope confessed to reporters that he was a supporter of Real Madrid, not Barcelona."I think these are just the pope being himself," she said.On the flight from Madrid to Barcelona, the pope rode part of the way in the cockpit -- visibly enjoying himself and waving out of the window to a fighter jet accompanying the plane.He joked with the pilots, according to video released by the Spanish carrier, Iberia.When one of the pilots told him he was a fan of Real Madrid, whose players wear white shirts, the pope responded: "I'm all in white. In Barcelona you have to be careful."The pope has spoken about the challenges and opportunities of the digital age for the young and devoted his first encyclical -- a sort of papal manifesto -- to artificial intelligence.
