When Almeida met the Pope at Cuatro Vientos in the middle of the storm

When the mayor of Madrid receives Pope Leo XIV on June 6, it will not be the first time that José Luis Martínez-Almeida goes to see a Pontiff in the capital: he was present at the last time a Pope, Benedict XVI in this case, set foot in the capital of Spain. It was in 2011, on the occasion of World Youth Day.

Five years ago, the journalist Pedro J. Rodríguez Rabadán published the book Traces of a storm, which included the memories of the current mayor of Madrid at WYD 2011. This text was later published by the magazine Christian World.

Almeida recalls that in August 2011 “Madrid became the capital of Catholicism for a few days”. He mentions how he was present: “I had the good fortune to experience it as just another Madrileño. Three moments had a personal impact on me during those days”.

First of all, “the Retiro Park and the two hundred confessionals in what was called the ‘Feast of Forgiveness’” (on this occasion the experience cannot be repeated, since the organization decided to replace the confessionals with “listening points”). Then, the Way of the Cross on the Paseo de Recoletos with images of the Passion, exponents of the Holy Week celebrated in Spain. 

Finally, he spoke of the highlight: “Personally, I had the gift of being able to attend the prayer vigil with the Pope at the Cuatro Vientos airfield. Some friends invited him, but he hesitated to attend. ”I can't deny that, when I saw on the television news the images of the young people on that huge esplanade waiting for the Pope, I had a lot of doubts. But the insistence of my friends and the conviction that it was going to be a historic day gave me the final push“.

The mayor recounted that, lacking accreditation, he was unable to access the areas of the venue closest to the stage. He recalled: “Maybe it was time to turn around and experience that event from the living room at home. The idea was tempting. 

However, a friend changed their minds. “Paul, tenacious to the point of exhaustion, got the information we needed: the back of the compound could be accessed by going around the entire perimeter. It was a worthwhile option, even though dark clouds were beginning to gather several kilometers away. It was an adventure: ”We then began a hike, the duration of which we did not know. We reached our objective after about an hour. I seem to remember it was sector J4. It was the end. The last possible line. The rear. Behind us, the railroad tracks marked the limit. In front of us, on a blurred horizon, we could sense the stage where the Pope would be. The tide of pilgrims stretching to the podium was overwhelming.

 “We all looked sideways at the storm clouds,” the mayor continues his story. It looked bad. But the arrival of the Pope, with the consequent excitement of those present, provoked an indescribable buzz. We were able to follow the beginning of the prayer vigil thanks to the giant screen. But one eye was always on the storm...which was getting closer and closer".

In the middle of the storm

And then... “What seemed inevitable happened. The storm unloaded on the enclosure as if it were the end of the world. With no possible shelter, and faced with the inevitable soaking, we opted to ‘enjoy’ the rain, not without some fear of the virulence of the thunder and lightning. But the Pope stayed there. Also ‘soaking’. He endured like one more. And, when it seemed that nothing more incredible could happen, an event took place that overwhelmed me. The Blessed Sacrament arrived at the platform exposed in the Custody of Arfe of the Cathedral of Toledo. We could barely make out the details on the giant screen. But we could all experience the silence. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims prostrated - we prostrated - to adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The thunderous silence that filled the enclosure invited to a trusting prayer. With a society - even then - bathed in incessant noise, it was comforting to allow oneself to be enveloped by that silence and to raise one's petitions to God”.

“I returned home tired but encouraged by that experience,” he added. He concluded: “The next day, I was struck by a photograph of two firemen, hidden from the pilgrims” view, securing the structure of the stage while the Pope was praying on his knees. It was the graphic representation of the quiet and anonymous work that so many professionals had put at the service of others to make WYD Madrid a success.“ ‘And I enjoyed it from ’the J4”," concludes the current mayor of Madrid.