Pope to Visit the Canary Islands in the Second Week of June
The visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain will be the ninth papal trip to the country and the first to the Canary Islands.
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to travel to Spain from June 6‑12 – still awaiting official confirmation from the Holy See but already outlined by the Spanish Episcopal Conference and the Vatican. This will mark the ninth papal visit to Spain, following five trips by Pope John Paul II and three by Pope Benedict XVI, and it will be the first ever to the Canary Islands. Spain has not hosted a pontiff for 15 years.
The most recent papal visit to Spain was made by Benedict XVI in August 2011, when he presided over the World Youth Day in Madrid. The pontiff emphasized the concerns of many young people, noting that they “look with worry at the future amid the difficulty of finding decent employment.” He warned that humanity must be “at the centre of the economy” and cautioned against those who consider themselves “gods.”
During the “Four Winds” vigil, the Pope intended to defend the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman and to critique relativist culture, but a heavy downpour forced him to improvise. He left a message for the youth:
“Your strength is greater than the rain.”
Canary Islands: A Journey “In the Heart” of Francis
From Barcelona, Pope Leo XIV will travel to the Canary Islands, undertaking “a journey that was already in the heart of Francis,” as highlighted last January by Madrid’s Cardinal Archbishop José Cobo Cano. The itinerary includes two stops: Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
According to the Vatican’s official bulletin, Leo XIV will first head to a “great European country,” Spain, whose identity has been shaped by Christian faith but “is affected by secularisation.” He will then conclude his trip in the Canary Islands, “one of the main migratory routes from Africa to Europe, with tens of thousands of arrivals each year.”
Africa: A Pilgrimage Similar to John Paul II’s
Pope Leo XIV will also travel to Africa from April 13‑23, following the footsteps of Saint Augustine in Algeria (Algiers and Annaba); then moving to Central Africa in Cameroon (Yaoundé, Bamenda, and Douala); onward to Angola (Luanda, Muxima, and Saurimo); and finally to Equatorial Guinea (Malabo, Mongomo, and Bata).
The journey is described as “complex,” simultaneously a pilgrimage honoring the memory of the saint of Hippo, to whom the Pope feels a strong connection, and a visit to two developing nations with special attention to the most vulnerable, the poor, and those who serve them. Peace is also a key objective: Leo XIV will travel to the anglophone northern region of Cameroon, where a civil war between regular armed forces and separatists has raged for ten years.
The final leg will be Equatorial Guinea, the only Spanish‑speaking African country. In total, Leo XIV’s pilgrimage, by duration, resembles Pope John Paul II’s 1985 African tour, which covered seven countries in eleven days.