León XIV blesses Sagrada Família's Jesus Tower on historic Barcelona visit, first papal trip to Spain since 2011

A long-awaited return to Montserrat

Pope León XIV's visit to Catalonia began with a deeply symbolic stop at the Montserrat abbey, the first by a pontiff since John Paul II in 1982. Thousands of faithful gathered from early morning, filling the mountain monastery to accompany the Pope in praying the rosary and to hear the Escolanía choir sing the Salve and Virolai before the Moreneta. Many attendees had waited for hours under the sun, holding flags and sharing their excitement.

It's the first time I've seen this Pope. I feel wonderfully happy and very emotional. The first time I saw a Pope was John Paul II in Venezuela, I was very small, and now Pope Leo, imagine, with more age and awareness of what he represents. My emotion is enormous.

For some pilgrims, the visit was part of a longer journey. Two women from Lleida, Paloma and Tere, had also attended events in Madrid and described the Montserrat gathering as different from the rest because of the presence of Catalonia's patron saint. The Pope blessed children and toured the monastery, with the mountain setting providing some of the day's most solemn images.

Prison visit breaks protocol and precedent

Before Montserrat, León XIV made history by becoming the first Pope to visit a Spanish prison, entering the Brians 1 penitentiary. The visit produced an unscripted moment when inmate Montserrat López, overcome with emotion, abandoned her prepared speech, embraced the Pope, and kissed him on both cheeks. Organisers had told her and fellow inmate Josefina that the Pontiff should be greeted with a handshake, but no formal protocol had been established.

Before I had no faith, but now I do. Since I've been in prison I've met Father Jesús Roy, who has given me a lot of strength and I've managed to believe.

The Pope responded with a message of hope, telling inmates that life's mistakes do not determine a person's identity and urging them to lift their gaze when they feel it is not worth continuing. Many prisoners later said they felt forgotten by society. The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and other authorities accompanied the visit.

Sagrada Família: the central act

In the afternoon, the Pope travelled to the Sagrada Família basilica, riding the popemobile along Carrer Rosselló in the Eixample district where hundreds of people lined the street. He was received by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Catalan president Salvador Illa, Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni, and the president of the Sagrada Família construction board, Esteve Camps.

Inside the basilica, the Pope visited the tomb of Antoni Gaudí, whose centenary of death coincides with the completion of the Jesus Tower. Cardinal Robert Prevost was scheduled to officiate a mass at 19:30, after which León XIV would bless the 172.5-metre tower, the tallest of the basilica. More than 200 cardinals and bishops attended, as Barcelona is simultaneously hosting the annual meeting of Mediterranean bishops (MED26).

A city under lockdown

The visit prompted an extraordinary security deployment across Barcelona. The Mossos d'Esquadra mobilised around 5,600 officers, nearly a quarter of the force, joined by 500 Guardia Urbana agents. Interior councillor Núria Parlon described the operation, codenamed Albus, as an extraordinary operational challenge due to its logistical complexity, the expected crowds, and the international context with the anti-terrorist alert maintained at level 4 out of 5.

Police canine and subsoil units swept the exterior and interior of the Sagrada Família for dangerous devices. Streets near the basilica, normally packed with tourists, stood empty and cordoned off, with officers on every corner. Traffic cuts affected much of the city centre, including the Raval neighbourhood, where the Pope made a penultimate stop.

Meeting with social organisations in El Raval

Before arriving at the Sagrada Família, León XIV visited the Church of Sant Agustí in the multicultural, low-income Raval district. There he met with members of his own Augustinian order and around 400 people from some 90 charitable organisations. The Pope mixed Spanish and Catalan in a speech that departed from his prepared script several times and included moments of humour.

Here I feel at home. I arrived and said, 'look, there's a church of Saint Augustine in Barcelona, let's visit it.' It was closed. Today it is open, and how beautiful to find a church with an Augustinian community and with so many people who live, who praise God, who find community, welcome, integration, in this church and in this social ministry.

Representatives from Cáritas, the Amaranta Foundation (which addresses human trafficking), and the Obinso association (which fights addictions) gave testimonies. The Pope thanked them for their work, lamenting what he called a loss of the sense of the sacred dignity of the human being in current times. The Pope's Spanish journey continues on Thursday 11 June, when he departs for the Canary Islands to visit Gran Canaria and Tenerife.