Leo XIV insists on unity on his arrival in Barcelona

Pope Leo XIV bid farewell to Madrid after three intense days, arriving in Barcelona to continue his visit to the city. visit to Spain. Upon his arrival at Barcelona-El Prat International Airport, the Pontiff was received by representatives of the Generalitat of Catalonia and, after a brief private meeting in the VIP lounge, he blessed the tabernacle of the airport chapel.

Afterwards, he went to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia to preside the Midday Prayer together with the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella, the chapter, the diocesan curia, volunteers, seminarians and formators. Before the celebration, the Holy Father prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. He then listened to Cardinal Omella's words of welcome and presided over the Midday Prayer, during which he delivered a homily that, alternating between Spanish and Catalan, focused on ecclesial communion.

The Holy Father's first homily in Barcelona

Taking as a reference the images of the Church as “Bride” and as “Body of Christ,” Leo XIV encouraged the faithful to walk together, pastors and laity, aware that the Christian community is born of God's love and grows by letting itself be loved by Him: «He has chosen you to represent today the “community of saints” (cf. 1 Co 1,2) that is in Barcelona». He also recalled the words addressed to the Church of Barcelona by Pope Francis, among them: «Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection that is poured and will be poured abundantly into your heart [...]. Never extinguish this fire that will make you fearless preachers of the Gospel» (Speech to the Barcelona Seminary community, 10 December 2022).

The Pontiff also dedicated part of his speech to the Christian tradition of Catalonia and Barcelona. Quoting St. John Paul II, he highlighted the welcoming character of the city and praised those who work for harmony and communion “beyond all polarization”. He also stressed the importance of preserving unity in an increasingly individualistic and fragmented society: «If Christ is the Bridegroom who first loved us, He is also the Head to whom we are united as members of a single organism, one at the service of another, «men of every tribe, language, people and nation» (Ap 5,9), all animated by the action of the same Spirit, all called to the same holiness».

Leo XIV insisted again on unity, recalling that Barcelona, known as “Cap i Casal de Catalunya”, has a special vocation to become a reference of cohesion and encounter. “Barcelona is called ‘Cap i Casal de Catalunya’. This gives this community a special vocation and responsibility to become, with God's help, builders of unity,” he said.

The Pope also invited Christians to be “witnesses and prophets of unity, welcome, harmony and peace” in a world marked by wars and divisions. Drawing inspiration from the example of St. Eulalia, patroness of the city, he called to «die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce what is superfluous in order to build on what is essential and lasts forever».

The homily concluded with an invocation to Our Lady of Mercy, patroness of Barcelona: “May Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of unity, help us to be faithful to this commitment and this mission: «Santa Maria de la Mercè, pregueu per nosaltres”.

At the end of the prayer of the Sixth Hour, the Pontiff went to the Archbishop's House, where he has lunch and meets privately with the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, and with members of the Augustinian Order.