Get you up to speed: Pope Leo faces stiff competition from Bad Bunny for attention in Spain | News World
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Madrid today for a week-long visit, during which he will engage with Spanish royals and government officials. The Pope’s agenda commenced with a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace, attended by King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
Pope Leo XIV’s itinerary includes significant engagements in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands over a week, featuring meetings with the Spanish monarchy and government officials. His visit aligns with a broader context of increasing secularisation in Spain, where over half of the population identifies as Catholic, but most are non-practicing.
Pope Leo XIV arrived in Spain for a week-long visit, with plans for meetings including one with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday following a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace. Amidst this, he expressed hope that his presence might inspire young people, acknowledging the competition from the ongoing concerts of Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny in Madrid.
What remains unclear — The specific nature of the scandals involving Spain’s political and spiritual leadership has not been detailed.
Pope Leo faces competition from Bad Bunny during Spain visit
Pope Leo arrived today in Madrid for a week-long tour of Spain (Picture: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Pope Leo has admitted he is facing some competition as he arrived in Spain for a week long visit.
The 70-year-old pontiff is in Madrid at the same time Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny stages a string of concerts in the Spanish capital.
Leo acknowledged that faced with the choice, young Spaniards would likely choose to see the six-time Grammy award winner over him.
However he still hoped his visit would ‘awaken’ young adults, who he said were sensing a lack of meaning in their lives.
Bad Bunny will continue a series of ten shows in Madrid this evening, where he is due to perform at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano until June 15, before coming to London at the end of the month.
The Pope’s arrival comes as both Spain’s political and spiritual leadership have been embroiled in scandals.
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The Pope with King Felipe of Spain (centre) at Madrid’s Royal Palace (Picture: Europa Press/MEGA)
Following a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid with King Felipe and Queen Letizia today, the Pope will meet prime minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday.
He will then travel to Barcelona on Tuesday, where he will lead a prayer vigil at the city’s Lluís Companys stadium.
His visit will conclude in the Canary Islands on Wednesday and Thursday, during which he will meet religious leaders in Gran Canaria and migrants at Las Raíces centre in Tenerife.
More than half of Spaniards identify as Catholic, although most define as non-practicing.
However the nation is united by a love of football.
Bad Bunny is doing two weeks of concerts at Madrid’s Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium (Picture: EPA/Shutterstock)
Asked about the upcoming World Cup, Pope Leo said his support would be behind his home country and co-hosts, the US.
But tasked with choosing between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the former a symbol of Spanish unionism, the latter Catalan nationalism, he separated his views from the position traditionally taken by the pontiff.
‘That’s easy’, he said.
‘The pope is for all teams, but Prevost is Real Madrid’, referring to his surname by birth.
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