Barcelona atheist and secularist protest against Pope's visit draws only about 100 people, far below expectations
A rally by atheist, secularist and Masonic groups against Pope León XIV's visit to Barcelona attracted roughly 100 to 200 people on Tuesday evening, a fraction of the thousands who turned out for the pontiff's events.
A muted demonstration
A protest organised by the Fundació Ferrer i Guàrdia, Europa Laica and Ateus de Catalunya under the slogan "Por la laicidad y contra los privilegios públicos de la visita del Papa León XIV" ("For secularism and against the public privileges of Pope León XIV's visit") drew only a small crowd to Barcelona's Passeig del Born on Tuesday evening. Estimates of attendance varied among sources, with El País and El Periódico reporting around 100 people, RTVE describing "a few dozen", and La Razón putting the figure at roughly 200. The gathering coincided with one of the Pope's main events at the Estadi Olímpic in Montjuïc, where some 40,000 people had assembled to see him, while another 5,000 welcomed him at Barcelona Cathedral.
Organisers' grievances
Speakers at the rally denounced what they described as excessive public-sector involvement in a religious visit.
The groups criticised the institutional treatment of the papal trip as a state visit, the free provision of venues such as the Estadi Olímpic, and the Pope's address to Spain's Congress of Deputies the previous day. Europa Laica's coordinator, Lluís Garcia, called the standing ovation in the lower house "shameful" and urged Spain to break its agreements with the Holy See.An ambiguity persists between religion and our public institutions that does not correspond to today's social reality.
Cost and constitutional arguments
The organisers highlighted the public cost of the visit, which RTVE reported at around €15 million in total, with the Catalan government contributing €1.6 million via the tourist tax. They argued that such expenditure contradicts the non-denominational character of the Spanish state enshrined in the constitution. A manifesto read during the event also raised historical and current grievances against the Catholic Church, including its positions on abortion and euthanasia, sexual abuse cases, property registrations, and the role of women within the institution.
Stark attendance contrast
The sparse turnout stood in marked contrast to the large crowds attending papal functions across the city. La Razón noted that most protesters were middle-aged, with few young people present. RTVE observed that the number of journalists covering the event far exceeded the number of demonstrators, while only a handful of Mossos d'Esquadra and Guàrdia Urbana officers monitored the perimeter without needing to intervene.
Technical difficulties and tone
The rally began shortly after 7 p.m. in front of Santa Maria del Mar but was hampered by a malfunctioning sound system, forcing speakers to use a handheld megaphone. Albert Riba, president of Ateus de Catalunya, opened the speeches and later said Catalonia appeared to have become a "colony of the Vatican," calling the Pope the head of the world's least democratic state.
Protesters displayed banners reading "Con nuestros impuestos protegen a los pederastas" ("With our taxes they protect paedophiles") and "Illa, Collboni, Franco estaría orgulloso" ("Illa, Collboni, Franco would be proud").It is a disgrace that this country has welcomed a figure who is neither a democrat nor a moral reference, because he has hidden and still hides criminal paedophiles, and whoever hides a criminal is also a criminal.
