More than a million people filled the streets near one of Madrid’s main squares this Sunday (7) to join Pope Leo for an open-air mass, probably the biggest event of his week-long visit to Spain, where the pope said that God is with the poor and abandoned in society.
Crowds of people packed along the barriers near the historic Plaza Cibeles, waving flags and shouting ‘Long live the pope’, as Leão arrived in his white popemobile to the event. Some threw flower petals when he arrived at the square.
About 1.2 million people were in the square and nearby streets, according to the Vatican and local organizers.
In his sermon for the mass, Leo urged the crowds to live out their Catholic faith by helping others. He said that God ‘identifies with the poor, the oppressed, those who are alone and abandoned’.
The pope also previously expressed the hope that Madrid ‘remains a welcoming and inclusive city, where social life is inspired by genuine human values’ in a message in a guestbook, when he received the key to the city from the mayor.
Leão began his trip on Saturday with meetings with migrants and the homeless and a vigil with around 600,000 young people in Madrid. His June 6-12 visit also includes stops in Barcelona and the Canary Islands, where he will meet migrants who risked their lives by crossing the West African border.
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He said he hoped the visit, his first to a European Union country outside Italy, would be an example to the world about respecting ‘all human beings’ and called on leaders to stop dividing electorates.
“I’m very happy that he is praying for us migrants and for our safety,” said Andrea Margarita, a 72-year-old Peruvian who arrived in Spain six months ago, as she waited in the crowd in a wheelchair with her daughter.
After the mass, Leão was scheduled to hold a private meeting with other members of his Augustinian religious order in the afternoon, before meeting with figures from the worlds of entertainment, sport and culture at a music venue in central Madrid.
