Pope Leo blesses Barcelona’s towering architectural masterpiece

The Mass featured musicians and choirs from around Catalonia, an autonomous region known for its distinct language, culture and independent identity, where there are vocal voices in favor of independence from Spain.

Earlier Wednesday, not far from the soaring towers, Leo was in less grand surroundings as he addressed prisoners at one of Spain’s largest penitentiaries. A person’s past “does not condemn the future but rather offers the possibility of changing our decisions and choices,” he told them.

The American pontiff has recently clashed with President Donald Trump over the war in Iran and immigration, issues he has highlighted on this tour of the predominantly Catholic nation.

On the first papal trip to the predominantly Catholic nation in 15 years, Leo has warned that escalating conflicts have pushed the world into a profound crisis.

On Monday, he became the first pontiff to address the Spanish parliament, telling lawmakers that a lack of help for the world’s migrants was challenging “the ethical foundation of the international order.”

Leo, a citizen of Peru as well as the United States, spoke in fluent Spanish, as he did at a vast outdoor Mass in Madrid on Sunday that organizers said was attended by some 1.5 million people.

In Barcelona, he also made some comments in Catalan, the predominant language in the region.

The final leg of his trip will see him visit the Canary Islands on Friday to meet with African migrants who made the dangerous journey to reach Spanish territory by boat. More than 3,000 people died attempting the journey last year, according to Caminando Fronteras, a Spanish humanitarian group.

Christianity is receding in Spain, which underwent a religious crisis in the late 20th century during its return to democracy. One in five people polled by Spain’s opinion agency in 2024 called themselves practicing Catholics.

But the people of Barcelona may have little choice but to adhere to the pope’s motto for the trip — “Alzad la mirada” or “lift up your eyes” — as they gaze up to the towering church that dominates the city’s skyline.

Rev. Joby Sebastian Kappipparambil said in an interview Tuesday that he thought the tower would elevate “their response to the daily sufferings and struggles,” and looking at the cross would bring salvation.

In the near future, they may also pray to a Saint Gaudí.

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