After 15 years of papal absence, the new Pope assumes the pending legacy of Francis in the Canary Islands and prepares for a historic speech before the Cortes that will shake the entire political spectrum.

The Spain that will welcome Pope Leo XIV this June bears no resemblance to the one John Paul II visited in the 1980s, nor to the one Benedict XVI last visited in 2011. In the last decade, the country has undergone an unprecedented demographic, political, and religious transformation. After fifteen years of what many faithful have experienced as a Roman “abandonment,” expectations are running high.

Yago de la Sierva, general coordinator of the visit, analyzes the key aspects of a trip that does not seek political popularity, but rather to build bridges in one of the most fractured nations in Europe.

An unprecedented meeting in a fractured Parliament

The highlight of the institutional agenda will undoubtedly be the Pope’s speech before the Cortes Generales, an intervention before the Congress and the Senate together that is unprecedented in the history of Spain.

In a climate of suffocating political polarization, the moral figure of the Pontiff—whose dual North American and Peruvian perspective gives him a unique global approach—seeks to throw a lifeline of rationality:

“We think it’s fantastic that he comes from outside and tells all our politicians: please, think about the common good and stop being interested only in your own partisan interests,” De la Sierva points out.

Leo XIV’s message promises to leave no one feeling comfortable. When he speaks of welcoming migrants and rejecting war, the left will applaud; when he defends the right to life, support for single mothers, and palliative care, the right will applaud. The premise is clear: the Gospel is neither left nor right, and this journey seeks to reposition the Church’s voice in the public debate.

Lights and shadows of a Church in the phase of internal mission

The diagnosis of the current state of the Spanish Catholic Church reveals a complex reality of both positive and negative aspects. Although the last two years have seen an increase in the number of seminarians and pockets of vocational vitality persist, the overall data reflects an accelerated decline in Christianization: today, less than 50% of children born in Spain are baptized, and church weddings account for less than 20% of all marriages.

For the coordinator of the visit, self-criticism is essential. The fundamental problem lies in the fact that Christian families have lost the ability to transmit the faith to the next generations. Therefore, the true fruit of this trip will depend on prior spiritual preparation:  “The meaning of mission today is not to go and preach in Gambia; the meaning of mission is to go and preach within our own families, neighborhoods, and cities . ”

Francis’ legacy: the Atlantic route in focus

One of the most significant highlights of the itinerary will be the stop in the Canary Islands, fulfilling a long-standing wish that Pope Francis was unable to realize due to his health problems. The Atlantic migration route is currently one of the deadliest in the world, and the Pope will visit symbolic locations such as the Arguineguín dock to meet with newly arrived migrants, rescue workers, police, and Christian communities.

The trip will combine denouncing the humanitarian crisis with expressing profound gratitude to the Caritas networks and local parishes, which provided up to 90% of the material aid and integration support for these individuals during the worst moments of the crisis. In contrast to the extreme rhetoric that criminalizes immigration or proposes mass regularizations outside of European frameworks, Leo XIV will attempt to strike a balance: defending the inalienable dignity of the human person while simultaneously recognizing the State’s right to manage migration flows safely.

Mutual healing: the private encounter with victims of abuse

Although it is not formally listed in the official program distributed to the media, it is assumed that the Pope will hold a closed-door meeting with victims of sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, following the practice established by his predecessors.

De la Sierva emphasizes that these types of meetings are not part of a political strategy or aimed at gaining public image, but rather form part of a strictly pastoral process of offering comfort and asking for forgiveness.  “Listening to the victims is the best way for the Church to understand the gravity of what has happened and to change, because without listening, there is no change ,” she affirms, also acknowledging the work of investigative journalism that forced the exposure of these cases in order to begin the process of rectification.

The Spanish context is unique in that the local episcopate has been one of the few in the world to promote a comprehensive external audit. Although the number of detected cases is significantly lower than in countries like France, Germany, or the United States, the Spanish Church has opted for a policy of full reparation, providing compensation even in cases where the statute of limitations has expired, where there is no conclusive legal evidence, or where the perpetrator has already died. The organization acknowledges that the major challenge remains the internal and external communication of these measures.

A horizon of reconciliation

Given the current legislative tensions with the central government—marked by the debate on the constitutionality of abortion, the oversight of state-subsidized private schools, and the future status of the Basilica of the Valley of the Fallen—the papal visit is not framed in terms of confrontation. The goal is to create a space for a general reset, to look ahead after fifteen years of waiting, and to reclaim, through proposals rather than entrenched positions, the relevance of the Christian message in Spain in 2026.