THE Pope has urged Spanish citizens to rediscover their Christian faith. He was speaking during a pilgrimage to Spain this week which has been widely interpreted as challenging liberalisation and secularisation in the traditionally Roman Catholic country.

Pope Leo told the 1.5 million-strong congregation at a mass in the Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid, on Tuesday that the country’s task was to “ensure that the religiosity, which has shaped and defined this country for centuries, is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today”.

Speaking earlier to diplomats and civil-society representatives, at a gathering hosted by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, the Pope recalled Spanish saints such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila, as well as the historic “dialogue on truth” between Christians, Muslims, and Jews in medieval Cordoba and Toledo.

He warned against relying on “preconceived ideologies” and called for “a qualitative leap forward” to enable schools and local communities to become “a nurturing ground for participation and cultural mediation”.

Although about 54.3 per cent of Spain’s population still identify as Roman Catholic, according to 2026 data, less than one in five is practising.

The Pope’s itinerary included a youth prayer vigil for 80,000 in Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium, as well as meetings with homeless people and survivors of clerical sex abuse.

In the first papal address to the Spanish parliament on Monday, Pope Leo warned that escalating polarisation, distrust, and human-rights violations were pushing the world into a “profound spiritual and cultural crisis”.

On Wednesday, he dedicated the central tower, the last to be completed, of the Sagrada Família, the world’s tallest church, in Barcelona, on the 100th anniversary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí (Features, Podcast, 5 June).

The visit is due to conclude in the Canary Islands, on Thursday.