Pope Leo XIV celebrates Corpus Christi with more than 1.5 million devotees on the second day in Spain

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June 8, 2026June 8, 2026By Mario Vásquez
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Corpus Christi with more than 1.5 million devotees on the second day in Spain

Pope Leo XIV gathered this June 7 in Madrid to 1.5 million people in the most massive event of his visit to Spain: a mass in the Plaza de Cibeles, in which he urged people to get out of selfishness, commit to the common good since religiosity “not be a museum of the past to visit.”

The pontiff asked the parishioners to reactivate faith and do not keep it in the comfort of the private sphere. In addition, he received one of the longest ovations to date during his pontificate.

The heat was not an impediment for hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets and wait for hours to see the pope pass by. Before the mass, Leo XIV He toured the streets of Madrid in the Popemobile and he had no qualms about greeting the faithful and blessing some babies.

One of the main unknowns of his trip to Spain was also cleared up. Leo XIV will receive victims of sexual abuse on June 8 in the afternoon at the Nunciature of Madrid, where he stays during his stay.

Leo be inspired by ancient human values.

During the homily he warned that “No one can kneel before God and despise his brother.”as well as urged to “break the chains of all selfishness.”

Likewise, he asked that “the religiosity that has animated this country for centuries is not a museum to visit, but a school of faith from which to drink today too.”

Pope Leo XIV greets from the pope mobile upon his arrival at Plaza Cibeles to officiate the Corpus Christi mass in Madrid. (Free Press Photo: EFE/ Sergio Pérez).

Later, in a meeting with civil society, he mentioned that businessmen “do not see the employee as another factor in the equation of their interests.”

He asked the university “not to live with its back to the world of work or renounce the truth”; He called on the art world to “not only serve the elites” and appealed to that “sport is not reduced to spectacle nor converted into mere business.”

The Spanish actor Antonio Banderas defended before Leo XIV that the “art should be an alternative to violence” and highlighted that it is not only beauty, but also “question, reflection, contrast and revolution.”

He insisted that art is a warning voice for societies that have become “accustomed to injustice”; Art, he added, “must be an alternative to violence. All violence,” a moment that was interrupted by applause from the audience.

He also recalled that, in a world that is fragmenting, art helps to recover depth and the soul that tries to “steal” artificial intelligence.

Corpus Christi Procession

Leo XIV too presided over the Corpus Christ processioni through the Plaza de Cibeles, after a monstrance of the Blessed Sacrament that is kept in the Almudena Cathedral Museum in Madrid.

The pontiff marched under a canopy, a ancient tradition recovered in 2025 by Leo XIV at Corpus Christi in the streets of Rome.

He highlighted a floral carpet with more than 30 thousand carnations provided by the Corpus Christi Carpet Makers Association of Ponteareas.

The majority of those gathered to see the pope were Spanish, although devotees of different nationalities also gathered.

Prisoners at mass

A total of 16 deprived of liberty from the Madrid prison of Soto del Real were chosen to attend, in the back, the mass.

Jefferson, Ecuadorian, and Manuel Jesús, originally from the Dominican Republic, were among those chosen and recognized, in a telephone conversation, how lucky they have been.

Jefferson attends mass every Sunday in the prison and is in charge of “carrying the Saint” for two years at Easter.

Manuel Jesús was also forceful: “The experience is unique. It is a very nice experience and we have all enjoyed it. There are things that cannot be explained, but we had a great time, the atmosphere was good and the treatment was good.”

The prisoners were moved by having felt that Leo XIV, a “sincere and noble” manwas with them.

The King of Spain, Felipe VI, highlighted, when saying goodbye to the Pope after the mass, the response of Madrid and its inhabitants, who filled the streets to continue the liturgical celebration.

“Madrid has responded”the king said to Leo XIV when, after the mass, he said goodbye to him at the doors of the City Hall, accompanied by Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.

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