Pope Leo XIV. on Wednesday in his sermon at Barcelona’s Sagrada Família declared that Christians cannot be considered believers if they “support war.” According to AFP, it was the pope’s indirect allusion to the administration of US President Donald Trump.
In the sermon, Lev also mentioned migration when he said that Christians cannot “abandon…those who flee from poverty,” writes TASR. “We cannot believe in Jesus and support war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill innocents.” emphasized the Pope in front of thousands of believers, including the Spanish King Philip VI. and Queen Letizia. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and members of the Spanish and Catalan governments were also present. The phrase “just war” used by Washington in connection with the conflict with Iran was called “obsolete” by the Pope.
AFP recalled that the Trump administration has repeatedly advocated attacking Iran as an effort to prevent the country from developing and producing nuclear weapons. US Vice President JD Vance, who recently converted to Catholicism, supports this “just war” concept. He urged the Pope to be careful with theological statements.
Pope Leo XIV. has been critical of the war in the Middle East for a long time and also calls for dignified acceptance of migrants and their integration. In April, he called Trump’s threats against Iran “truly unacceptable” and called on Americans to pressure their lawmakers to “work for peace.” Trump has repeatedly criticized the pope as “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy,” to which Lev responded that he had a “moral obligation to speak up.”
In a recent interview, Trump again criticized the Pope, claiming that Lev thinks that “it is okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”. When asked about these statements, Lev said that the mission of the Catholic Church is to “proclaim peace” and the Gospel. He added that if someone wants to criticize him for his words, they should do so “truthfully”.
Leo XIV. before the mass, he visited the tomb of the Catalan architect and creator of this monumental building, Antoni Gaudí, in the crypt of the basilica, exactly one hundred years have passed since his death on Tuesday. Gaudí was declared venerable by the Vatican in April 2025. Pope Francis, who recognized Gaudí’s “heroic virtues” with his decreethereby opening the way to his possible beatification, but under the condition of recognizing at least one miracle.
As the La Croix website reported, the Mass was followed by the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ. The relevant text was delivered by the Pope in Catalan. This tower is the dominant feature of the temple and with a total height of 172.5 meters it is the tallest church tower in the world. The basilica itself was consecrated 16 years ago by the then Pope Benedict XVI, who also gave it the title basilica minor.
Pope Leo XIV. on Wednesday morning, he visited the Brians 1 prison, where he listened to the testimony of two people serving the sentence and the prison chaplain. In his speech, he emphasized that God’s love stands above every human transgression and does not stop giving a person a new chance to change his mind. “God loves you as you are, but dreams of your better self” he reminded everyone present.
From Barcelona, the Pope went to the Benedictine abbey on Montserrat, which recently celebrated its 1000th anniversary. Leo XIV. he indicated this in his speech the place behind the “beacon of Western Christian culture”, he prayed the rosary with the assembled faithful and met with the monastic community.
In a short address, he called on the faithful to they avoided aggression and hostility in words and deeds. He emphasized that people should get rid of attitudes that lead to closing themselves off from others and instead cultivate openness, peace and mutual respect. At the same time, he thanked those present for their faith and participation.
The abbey also houses a statue of Our Lady of Montserrat, known as La Moreneta, which in 1881 Pope Leo XIII. declared the patron saint of Catalonia. As part of his visit to Spain, the Pope will travel to the Canary Islands on Thursday, where, in addition to masses and reception of clergy he also attends meetings with migrants and representatives of organizations that help them with integration. He will return to Rome on Friday.
