Pope Leo XIV fields raw questions on depression and domestic violence at Barcelona youth vigil

Pope Leo XIV's weeklong visit to Spain continued Tuesday with a youth prayer vigil at Barcelona's Olympic stadium that drew an estimated 40,000 attendees. The event, the second stop of his trip, featured a frank question-and-answer session where young adults shared deeply personal struggles with the pontiff.

Raw testimonies from the crowd

One young woman told the pope of a suicide attempt and the "darkness" she experienced during bouts of depression. Another described her father's attempt to kill her mother and a childhood spent in juvenile detention, asking how she could ever forgive him. Leo thanked the youths for their honesty and willingness to share their stories publicly.

In those dark hours, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus shared our pain and revealed to us the face of a compassionate God, who bears our sorrows, who suffers with us, weeps our tears and remains at our side with his presence full of love and mercy.

A nod to Catalan identity

The U.S.-born pope addressed the crowd in Catalan more extensively than initially planned, responding to criticism of an early Vatican announcement that he would speak only Spanish during the visit. The archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella Omella, had told those demanding Catalan be used that "the pope will do what he can." Leo exceeded expectations, and the crowd responded with enthusiasm. Catalonia has strong separatist forces seeking independence from Spain.

Cultural and symbolic gestures

The evening included several nods to Catalan culture, including a demonstration of the region's famed human tower acrobats, known as castellers. An eight-level tower drew appreciative applause from the pope after the smallest child reached the top, waved, and quickly descended. Leo also thrilled sections of the crowd by stopping his popemobile to bless babies and performing the "6-7" hand gesture that has become his signature.

Broader themes of the visit

Leo blamed the malaise described by the young speakers on a society that demands perfection and silences "moments of darkness and suffering." He identified abusive families where domestic violence is normalized as being behind many problems facing today's young people. The pope, born Robert Prevost and elected in May last year, arrived in Madrid on Saturday. An open-air Mass there drew more than 1.2 million people. Before the Barcelona vigil, he blessed 30 ambulances destined for Ukraine.

Upcoming stops

The highlight of the Barcelona leg is expected to be a Wednesday evening Mass at the Sagrada Familia basilica. The final stop of the trip begins Thursday on the Canary Islands, where the head of 1.4 billion Catholics plans to meet with migrants who have arrived from Africa in small wooden boats.