The Vatican has again informally confirmed that Pope plans trip to Spain in 2026 and summoned the presidency of the Episcopal Conference to a meeting this Friday in Rome with the Secretariat of State to begin to design the … itinerary. The Holy See did not announce dates or cities will visit León XIV, but it is assumed that he will be at least in Madrid and Barcelona.
“Sources from the episcopal conference confirmed the meeting which will take place next Friday in Rome between the presidency of the episcopal conference and the Secretariat of State”, the Spanish bishops announced in a brief informal communication sent this Thursday.
Vatican initiative
According to the specialized publication “Vida Nueva” on Wednesday, the Vatican took the initiative to convene this meeting to begin finalizing the agenda for the possible visit, and the cardinals JJuan Jose Omellaarchbishop of Barcelona, and Jose Coboarchbishop of Madrid, accompanied by the president of bishops, Luis Argüello.
On November 27, during the flight to Turkey, the Pope responded to Spanish journalists who questioned him about his trip to Spain with an explicit response: “there is no shortage of invitations to travel to Spain, let’s see the dates” and “you can have more than hope.”
In addition to the invitation that the King made to him in person during the opening Mass of his pontificate on May 18, the first concrete proposal received by the Pope was to bless the basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which will be completed in a few months when the 172.5 meter Tower of Jesus that will crown the temple is completed. In addition, on June 10, they will commemorate one hundred years since the death of Antoni Gaudícurrently in the process of beatification.
A few days ago, on December 23, Cardinal José Cobo, Archbishop of Madrid, assured that “it is also very likely that (the Pope) will come to Madrid, it is already a very probable possibility on the table. The when and how still need to be refined. we can warm up our engines“. Papal trips include an institutional stop in the capital of the nations he visits, and that is why the Pope will travel to Madrid and meet the kings at the Zarzuela or the Royal Palace. In some countries, he also usually intervenes in Parliament and organizes an institutional meeting with civil authorities and representatives of culture and society. It is likely that he will do so in Spain.
Leo or that of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, who usually spent no more than three and a half days in the countries they visited.
If the Pope is short of time, he could organize an event in a city close to Madrid, such as Ávila or Segovia, on the occasion of the 300 years since the canonization of Saint John of the Cross and the 100th of his appointment as Doctor of the Church. Or you can also go to Toledo for the eighth centenary of the Cathedral of the Primates which will be celebrated in 2026.
If a longer agenda is possible, it could include stops in Valladolid and Santiago de Compostelato recall the three centuries of canonization of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, evangelist of Peru and to address Europe from Finisterre; Navarre and the Basque Country to visit Javier and Loyola; go to Valencia to commemorate Saint Augustine Thomas de Villanueva; or in Granada, where Leo XIII made the Virgin of Sorrows his patroness.
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