MORE than 1.2 million people filled the streets of Madrid on Sunday for a mass by Pope Leo XIV at which he called for a renewal of the Catholic faith in Spain. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia joined throngs of devotees waving Spanish and Vatican flags in Cibeles Square for a service filled with religious symbolism.
In his homily, Pope Leo said Spaniards should not look at religion as “a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today”. The mass comes on day two of Pope Leo’s seven-day visit to Spain, a traditional Catholic bastion where religious observance has been declining sharply in recent years as in much of western Europe.
A huge logistical and security operation was in place for the event, after which the pope led a traditional procession along a route lined with white and yellow carnations — the Vatican flag colours. Organizers said there were more than 1.2 million people attending in the square and the surrounding area.
AFP
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