Between the artificial intelligence revolution, the existential crisis of young people and the shadow of a country that forgot its roots: the keys to the apostolic journey that seeks to shake up Europe.

If the Catholic Church doesn’t provide answers, the world doesn’t stand idly by: it goes looking for them elsewhere. Under this premise, the imminent visit of  Pope Leo XIV  to Spain—the first by a pontiff in 15 years and the first under Pedro Sánchez’s government—is shaping up to be much more than a religious event. In a deeply secularized and, dare I say, hopeless country, his arrival is awaited by many like a breath of fresh air.

But the big question that hangs in the air in the 21st century is unavoidable:  Why does the figure of the Pope still matter in a society with fewer and fewer believers and more and more skeptics?  How is it possible for a spiritual leader to generate the kind of awe and mass appeal that he could have today?

The paradox of a “post-Christian society with nostalgia”

We cling to material things, seeking in consumption a happiness that, in the end, proves fleeting. The decline in religious practice in Spain is evident; one only needs to turn on the television or look at the statistics. However, this lack of formal faith does not seem to have extinguished the thirst for transcendence. As analysts point out, Spain is not necessarily an anti-Christian country, but rather a  post-Christian society with a profound nostalgia for its roots .

Even in this climate of apathy, the Church’s ability to draw crowds remains undiminished. Leo XIV has scheduled a meeting with young people at the  Santiago Bernabéu stadium , where he is expected to gather more than  80,000 people . This historic event demonstrates that the transcendent message continues to resonate with new generations.

From Artificial Intelligence to the Holy Family

Pope Leo XIV’s agenda does not shy away from the major debates of modernity. The pontiff will travel to Barcelona to celebrate Holy Mass at the  Sagrada Familia , coinciding with the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death, and will fly to  the Canary Islands  to focus on one of the central themes of his trip and of current geopolitics: the immigration crisis and the culture of welcome.

However, one of the most anticipated aspects of his intellectual profile is his recent first encyclical,  Magnificat Humanitas , a text focused entirely on  the dangers and challenges of Artificial Intelligence . That a theologian Pope addresses the greatest technological revolution of our era with simple and accessible language for ordinary people demonstrates his intention not to isolate himself in dogma, but to speak directly to contemporary humanity.

Continuity or reform? The style of Leo XIV

Barely into his second year as Pope, the world is still discovering the true direction of this American pontiff. Those who have closely followed his career suggest avoiding the classic media trap of labeling him along the “liberal versus conservative” lines. Leo XIV does not appear to represent a break with his predecessor, Pope Francis, but rather an  intellectual and structural evolution .

“Francis prepared the ground for the periphery, and Leo XIV has come to give it an intellectual structure to inhabit that periphery,” say experts from the Vatican sphere.

Affable yet prudent, a man of few words but a commanding presence, the current pontiff stands out for placing Christ at the center of public debate, without political reservations or pretense. His motto for this visit,  “Lift up your eyes ,” serves as a slap in the face to the chronic pessimism of a disoriented Europe. Leo XIV comes not only to speak to the already convinced, but, fundamentally, to preach to those who have drifted away; to those who, amidst modern suffering, sense that happiness is not found in material things, but in the state of the soul.

Do you think that Pope Leo XIV’s visit will manage to open a real dialogue in present-day Spain, or do you think that the impact will be diluted by the political and media noise?