Pope Leo XIV to Make Historic Visits to Spain, Monaco, and Rome's Quatricciolo

The Vatican has officially confirmed details of Leo XIV's upcoming apostolic journeys, which are generating immense excitement across Europe and Africa. The key point of this year's calendar will be the June visit to Spain. The program includes Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. An exceptional state event will be the Pope's address to the Cortes Generales planned for June 8. This is an unprecedented situation in the history of Spanish democracy, underscoring the status of Leo XIV as a head of state. In Barcelona, the focal point of the visit will be the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ in the Sagrada Família basilica, scheduled for June 10. This date coincides with the centenary of the death of the eminent architect, Antoni Gaudí. The Pope will celebrate a solemn Mass there and perform the rite of consecration for the tower, intended to be a symbolic moment for the entire Catholic world. Meanwhile, in Monaco, feverish preparations are underway for the March visit, which will end a period of 488-year absence of popes from this principality. The previous such visit took place in the 16th century, lending the upcoming event epochal significance. Relations between the Holy See and Spain are based on a concordat, but the visit to parliament is a new element, harking back to the tradition of papal speeches in international institutions such as the European Parliament or the UN.Concurrently, Leo XIV is engaged in intensive dialogue with the Roman clergy. During recent meetings, the Holy Father addressed modern technological challenges, warning priests against excessive reliance on tools such as ChatGPT when writing homilies. The Pope emphasized that proclaiming the word of God must be a "craftsman-like" process and grow from personal faith experience, which algorithms can never replace. He compared the human intellect to a muscle that, if unused, weakens and loses the capacity for deep pastoral reflection. „Il cervello deve essere usato come i muscoli; se non li usi, si indeboliscono. Gli algoritmi non potranno mai condividere la fede viva.” — Leo XIVIn the sphere of intra-church politics in Spain, the papal visit stirs emotions due to reports of papal warnings against the instrumentalization of faith by political movements, although the Episcopal Conference clarifies interpretations regarding specific parties. Although the Spanish Episcopal Conference avoids explicitly confirming private conversations with the Pope on this topic, media reports indicate deep concern in the Vatican over social polarization. However, the bishops have approved the creation of a special department for relations with Islam, intended as a response to the country's changing demographic structure and challenges related to integration.