León XIV brings his Barcelona visit to the Raval, a neighbourhood of 150 nationalities, poverty and crime

A parish at the crossroads

Pope León XIV visited the church of Sant Agustí in Barcelona's Raval district on Wednesday afternoon, a neighbourhood that is home to some 150 nationalities and where over 55% of residents are of foreign origin, according to city data. The parish itself is a hub of diversity: a Spanish and Catalan-speaking congregation worships alongside a large Filipino community that fills the 460-seat church with over 600 people for three Sunday masses in Tagalog and one in English. Latin American immigrants from Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Chile have also formed confraternities there, each with a chapel dedicated to their country's patron saint.

The Pope has come to a humble place, almost ignored in the city. For me it is very important, because he is reaching the most humble.

Daily life and daily struggle

The Raval has one of the lowest per capita incomes in Barcelona and one of the highest crime rates. Residents and shopkeepers on Carrer Hospital, where the church is located, described a neighbourhood they feel has been forgotten. Jamal, a Moroccan bazaar worker who arrived in Spain 18 years ago, said clients no longer want to come because of theft. Mohamed, a resident of over 30 years, expressed hope the visit would bring lasting improvements to security, not just a one-day police deployment.

We are the great forgotten. Clients we had before no longer want to come. They cannot pass through this street.

A message beyond Catholicism

The Pope's choice of venue was a deliberate focus on the disadvantaged. The parish runs a daily meal service for over 400 people through the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, and a linked foundation distributes food and collects clothing for the homeless. The church also helps immigrants obtain identification documents in Spain. The pontiff met representatives from Caritas, Obinso and Adoratriz, and answered questions from local children, including one who asked why bad things happen to some people and good things to others.

Interfaith realities

Despite the papal visit, the neighbourhood showed little visible fervour. No Vatican flags or papal images appeared in the streets, and life continued largely as normal. The Raval is the Barcelona district with the second-highest proportion of foreign-born residents and one of the greatest levels of religious diversity, with nine mosques alongside ten Catholic churches. Fàtima Ahmed, a promoter of the Grup Interreligiós del Raval, an interfaith initiative run by the Tot Raval foundation for two decades, was invited to the event.

That he speak about interreligious dialogue in opposition to hate speech.

Ahmed noted that the far right is using Muslim immigration as a political weapon. The Pope's invitation to interfaith representatives underscored his message of respect for difference and fraternity beyond creed.

A personal return

For Pope León XIV, formerly Robert Francis Prevost, the visit was also personal. An Augustinian himself, he first saw the church in 1984 on a road trip from Rome to León. He joked upon entering that he did not have an archbishop beside him then, after a welcome from Cardinal Juan José Omella. He also reunited with the rector, Faustino, with whom he had shared time in Tanzania two decades earlier. The encounter blended institutional purpose with private memory, in a neighbourhood where, as one resident put it, diversity is simply normality.