Pope Leo XIV in Madrid: Corpus Christi must not become museum of the past
Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called on Spain to renew its historic Eucharistic faith, warning that the country’s centuries-old religious traditions must not become “a museum of the past to be visited” but remain “a school of faith from which to draw even today.”
The pope made the appeal while presiding over Mass, a procession, and Eucharistic blessing for the solemnity of Corpus Christi in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, one of the Spanish capital’s most emblematic sites.
“As I begin my visit to Spain, it is with a heart filled with joy that I preside over this celebration on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi,” the pope said in his homily.
Corpus Christi has deep roots in Spain and throughout the Catholic world. The feast originated after the efforts of St. Juliana of Cornillon, a Belgian religious sister who promoted a liturgical celebration dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. Pope Urban IV confirmed the feast for the universal Church in 1264, and within decades it had reached the Iberian Peninsula. King Alfonso X, known as “the Wise,” took part in a Corpus Christi celebration in Toledo in 1280.
Over the centuries, the tradition became firmly established in Spain, making the country one of the great centers of Eucharistic devotion. During the period of the Council of Trent, when the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist was contested in parts of Europe, Spanish popular piety continued to exalt it through processions, music, art, and public expressions of faith.
In Madrid, Pope Leo said Corpus Christi is “more than just another celebration on the liturgical calendar.”
“It is a way of returning to the heart of the faith to renew our love and fidelity to God,” he said.
“The solemn processions held on this day have for centuries shaped the piety, art, music, architecture and life of the Spanish people,” the pope continued. “Even today, they still express and manifest the spiritual sentiments of this country through the beauty and elegance of the floral carpets, the altars erected in the streets, the carefully crafted monstrances and stands, the hymns and the liturgical vestments.”
The setting itself added a striking backdrop to the celebration. Plaza de Cibeles, crowned by the statue of the Roman goddess in a chariot drawn by lions, is known internationally as the place where Real Madrid celebrates its titles. On Sunday, however, the square’s focus was Christ in the Eucharist.
One participant joked that with Pope Leo XIV in Madrid, the Spanish capital had three lions.
The pope said the Corpus Christi procession is not “an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty.”
“It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us, who becomes bread to satiate our hunger for life, and visits the recesses of our hearts and history, even those shrouded in darkness,” he said.
The procession route, about 600 meters along Calle de Alcalá, one of Madrid’s central thoroughfares, was adorned with 16 floral carpets — eight on each side — made with more than 30,000 carnations. Numerous faithful joined the pope, including many boys and girls who had recently received their first Communion.
Pope Leo said the procession reveals that Christ “is not confined to the church, but comes out to meet us.”
“Jesus travels the streets, crosses the squares and visits our neighborhoods, dwelling in the settings of our daily lives,” he said. “He is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people, the Lord of history.”
The pope also connected Corpus Christi with charity, noting that the Church in Spain has long associated the solemnity with the Day for Charity.
“The Christ who processes through the streets in the monstrance is the same one who identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone and forsaken,” he said.
“It is not merely a matter of bringing out the monstrance,” Pope Leo emphasized, “but of allowing ourselves to be brought out of our selfishness and indifference, of a comfortable, private faith, so as to respond to his invitation to conversion, to change our perspective, and to welcome his presence which transforms us and makes us builders of a new world.”
The pope said the historical memory of Spain’s Corpus Christi processions “is not confined to wistful nostalgia.”
“Instead, it stands as an invitation in the present moment, in our daily lives, in our relationships, in society, and in the building of the future,” he said.
That, he added, is the task facing Spain today and tomorrow: “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.”
The pope described that school of faith as one that “teaches us to kneel before God and before our neighbor, because no one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother.”
It is also, he said, “a school that teaches us of the gratitude of love that becomes a gift, so that it may flow among us and break the chains of all selfishness.”
From the Eucharist, he continued, Catholics learn “that God is a real presence and that we too are called to be present in the realities and challenges of society, not shying away, but personally committing ourselves to the building of the common good.”
Pope Leo also recalled St. Manuel González García, the Spanish bishop known as “the bishop of the abandoned tabernacle.”
“His life reminds us that the Eucharist should be honored not only during great celebrations or on special occasions, but also through the silent fidelity of those who accompany the Lord with a humble and quiet friendship that is nourished day by day,” the pope said.
The pope also cited St. John of the Cross, recalling that while imprisoned in harsh conditions in Toledo around the time of Corpus Christi in 1578, the Spanish mystic recognized the hidden presence of the Lord even in darkness.
“The Eucharistic Jesus is ‘that eternal spring that is hidden’ — a spring that flows and quenches thirst, yet without blinding, without imposing itself through outward power, without presenting itself in a spectacular way,” the pope said.
Pope Leo closed by urging the faithful to return to Christ in the Eucharist with “sincere love.”
“Let us open ourselves to the encounter with him, let us allow him to quench the thirst of our hearts, so that we may then go forth into the paths of life and history, bringing to the people this stream of fresh water, a stream of love, peace, justice and joy,” he said.
“Let us drink anew from this Eucharistic spring, which does not enclose us in private devotion, but sends us out to refresh our brothers and sisters, our families, the poor, the suffering, and those who have lost hope,” the pope said. “Eucharistic grace transforms us and makes us protagonists of the transformation of history, a sign of hope for those we meet.”
“May the Lord Jesus, present in the Eucharist, transform you into bread that is broken, given, and offered,” he concluded, “so that a life of fullness may spring forth for you, for your families, and for your country.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
‘You are so loved’: New film reveals enduring power of the Sacred Heart
A new movie called “Sacred Heart: His Reign Has No End” will be hitting theaters across the United States this month after experiencing tremendous success in France and other countries.
Directed and produced by Steven and Sabrina Gunnell of KREA Film-Makers, “Sacred Heart” was released in Europe in October 2025 and became a box office success selling nearly 1 million tickets.
The docudrama retells Christ’s apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — the 17th-century French nun who received the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Through testimonies, accounts of Eucharistic miracles, historical analysis, and reenactments, the film explores the moment when Christ revealed his heart to the world and its burning love for humanity.
The film will be in U.S. theaters June 9–11 and June 14.
The Gunnells spoke to EWTN News and shared that the inspiration for the film came from personal testimonies they heard from two Missionaries of the Sacred Heart while at Notre-Dame du Laus (Our Lady of Laus), a Marian sanctuary located in the Hautes-Alpes region of France. That same evening, the married couple, along with their extended families, discovered the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the first time and consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart.
The French filmmakers began to think about the possibility of making a documentary about the Sacred Heart. They began seeing the image of the Sacred Heart appear everywhere around them in their daily lives, which they took as a sign from God to make the film.
“In the moment where we said yes [to Jesus], in an instant, we had the story of the movie. We knew exactly what we would make for the movie,” Steven said.
Steven, 51, had his own powerful conversion story — thanks in part to the Sacred Heart of Jesus — when he was in his 20s.
Born in Annecy in southern France, he was raised solely by his mother — his father was in a rock band that toured most of the year. Despite the fact that his mother had been baptized a Catholic, she fell away from the faith and became part of a demonic sect, which she was a part of for roughly 25 years. This caused Steven to have a strained relationship with his mom, and at the age of 21, he left his home and moved to Paris in hopes of becoming an actor.
When he arrived in Paris he started to audition for roles, and during one he was asked if he could sing. It was this audition that landed Steven in the popular French boy band Alliage for three years. He soon became wealthy and famous with many fans. But eventually a shift in musical trends left boy bands as an outdated fad and life as he knew it came to an end — no more concerts, no more albums, and he was out of a job.
Steven went to London to escape his problems but became depressed, began to drink excessively, and started thinking about suicide.
One day, after years of not speaking, he called his mother from a phone booth. He told her he was going to do something bad because he couldn’t handle life anymore. Much to his surprise, his mother told him to go into a church and just take a moment before he did anything else. So he did. He went into the first church he saw, sat down, and ended up falling asleep. About four hours later, he woke up and was no longer suicidal.
Looking back on it now, he said he knows this was thanks to “resting in the Holy Spirit.” He recalled waking up and feeling “light, restored, and peaceful.”
Steven went back to this church every day for weeks. He ended up finding a job, and after about five months he called his mother again and asked her if could move back home.
“My mom said, ‘Your bedroom is waiting for you,’” he shared.
Once he arrived home, his mom took him to a small chapel dedicated to St. Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes. He was shocked to see his mother join about 400 other people in praying a rosary held in the chapel. Steven began to walk around the chapel and came face to face with a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“I’m kneeling at this moment, and I begin to cry with all my soul, all my blood, all my everything,” he said. “I met Jesus that day.”
Moments later a priest walked up to him from behind, put his hand on his shoulder, and asked him if he was Steven Gunnell.
“I said, ‘Yes. How do you know me, Father?’”
The priest responded: “Your mother has come here for one year now, every single day, because she has been praying for you … She prayed the rosary for you every day at 4 o’clock. And now you’re here — first miracle. Second miracle, you are here in the Chapel of St. Rita, the saint of impossible causes — welcome to the club.”
The priest went on to remind Steven of the sacraments he received as a child.
“‘You may have forgotten everything, but you are Catholic and God didnʼt forget you,’” the priest told him.
At that moment, Steven made his confession with the priest and after the rosary ended, he attended the Mass. The reading for that day? The story of the prodigal son.
“This story happened 26 years ago now and itʼs changed my life,” he said.
From there, Steven went on to meet his wife and together they began to create films “for the kingdom,” he said.
Now, he said he hopes this movie on the Sacred Heart will inspire others to realize how short their lives are and the importance of returning to Christ.
“Today we are here; tomorrow weʼre gone. Itʼs ridiculous when you think about it. You have no time to lose ... Go to church and just take a moment to give a few minutes in front of the tabernacle, the presence of the holy Eucharist, and take a few moments with him to say to him you love him and just hear in the silence, inside, the love he has for you.”
Sabrina added that she hopes viewers will leave knowing “that the love of God is more powerful than every evil thing in the world.”
“We have this heart, this God, who came as a human being and he has a heart of a human being and he can understand all our moods, all our difficulties, and we are so loved. You are so loved,” she said. “Everyone is so loved by God and we just want the people who come out of the cinema to feel full of love, burn about this love, and go out into the world to spread that.”
PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV meets royalty, civic leaders, hundreds of thousands of youth in Spain
Pope Leo XIV launched his six-day trip to Spain on June 6 by meeting with the countryʼs royalty before holding gatherings with civic leaders and huge crowds of young people in the capital city of Madrid.
The Holy Father met with the countryʼs King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia before paying a visit to a social services project in Madrid and then finishing the day with a massive gathering of hundreds of thousands of young Spanish citizens in the cityʼs Plaza de Lima.
See photos of Pope Leo XIVʼs first day in Spain below.
In Spain, Pope Leo XIV tells young people: 'You can change history, do it with love'
Pope Leo XIV was greeted by a spirit of youthful eagerness in Madridʼs Plaza de Lima on the evening of June 6, with many youth crying with emotion and others chanting: “This is the popeʼs youth!”
The event brought together more than 600,000 young people, according to the authorities.
The pope was especially comfortable in Spanish, a language in which he spoke on several occasions. At one point he told the crowd of hundreds of thousands of youth: “You can change history, do it with love.”
At another time, he unambiguously encouraged young people not to fear vocational commitment: “Never be afraid of having a vocation for priestly life or religious life.”
And he added: “You donʼt have to be afraid to get married and start a family.”
Addressing questions from young people, the pope said at one point: “The disciples of Jesus are always contemporaries, but never prisoners of the passing time. We are free in Christ!"
The pontiff stressed that Christ frees “with his love,” a love that leaves the person “always free in the face of all coercion and deception.”
“We are free from fashions, because we are disciples of the truth; we are open to the future, because we know that death does not await us,” he said.
Likewise, he entrusted young people with a great “mission,” namely: “Be human! Men and women of flesh and blood. Not appearances, but reliable faces. People who seek justice because they are hungry for it, as for the daily bread.”
“You are human as Christ is, the perfect man, the Risen One who shares history with us at all times. Cultivating this commitment, look at the Apostles, the first Christians, inhabitants of a pagan world,” he added.
Before his speech, the Pope heard several testimonies. Among them was that of Niurka, a young 33-year-old Cuban lawyer who arrived in Spain a little over a year ago, pushed by the serious economic and political crisis of her country. “I was very scared. But the Church welcomed me,” he said.
Khadry also spoke of his experience coming from Senegal. He arrived in Spain in 2020 after surviving the dangerous Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. In a gesture full of symbolism, he gave the pope his residence card, reflecting the importance of regularization in starting a new life.
In his remarks, Leo XIV also issued a warning to Christians against the risk of being dragged by currents outside the Gospel.
He pointed out that, frequently, Christians “allow themselves to be infected by attitudes marked by worldly ideologies or by political and economic positions that lead to unfair generalizations and misleading conclusions.”
“The fact that the exercise of charity is despised or ridiculed, as if it were the fixation of some and not the incandescent core of the ecclesial mission, makes me think that it is always necessary to read the Gospel again, so as not to run the risk of replacing it with the worldly mentality,” he concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Over 1,000 people process with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist through Washington, D.C.
More than 1,000 people processed through the streets of downtown Washington, D.C. on Saturday morning as the third annual National Eucharistic Pilgrimage made its way through the nation’s capital.
“Today we are going to bring Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to the streets of Washington, D.C.,” Father Charles Trullols, the director of the Catholic Information Center, said in a homily during the June 6 morning Mass before the procession began.
The procession offers “public witness to our faith,” Trullols said, displaying “the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity” to each person the procession passes by. Dozens of onlookers stopped to watch the procession, with many taking photos and videos.
The route began outside the Catholic Information Centerʼs K Street headquarters and went past Lafayette Square, which faces the White House. It also passed Farragut Square, McPherson Square, and the Veterans Affairs building.
Children who had recently received their First Holy Communion laid flower petals on the ground and the procession was led by cross and candle bearers, followed by religious sisters, the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance, the priests, the choir, and the lay people.
“I think it’s just a great opportunity to be a witness for Christ to a city that is so lost and while we were out there I was praying that someone who was out there would see it and come back to the Lord and find peace in the Lord and Christ,” Katie, from Jacksonville, Florida, told EWTN News.
“It’s just a beautiful witness out here today and Iʼm so grateful this was available especially to those who need it,” she said.
John, from Maryland, highlighted the significance of processing with the Eucharist in the nation’s capital less than one month before the country celebrates the Fourth of July.
“I think it’s very cool that this being the 250th anniversary of America we can do something like this,” he said. “It shows the freedom of religion in this country, and that it’s a great country to be in.”
The procession was one stop in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, a project of the National Eucharistic Congress that is bringing processions to dioceses across the country. This year’s route focuses mostly on visiting the original 13 colonies of the United States to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Trullols noted in his homily that the pilgrimage theme is “one nation under God,” which he said is “not merely a patriotic slogan,” but an invitation to place our lives, our families, and communities under Christ.
A nation under God “does not sustain itself automatically,” Trullols said. Rather, it can only be sustained “if its people choose to place God first.”
The Catholic Information Center has held a Eucharistic procession in downtown Washington for four straight years, initially independent of the broader pilgrimage. Trullos told EWTN News that the pilgrimage reached out to the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., which then reached out to center to partner this year on the procession.
“This procession is an expression in our capital for the love of our country and the desire to pray for our people and our nation,” Trullos said.
He estimated the attendance was around 1,300 people, noting it’s growing “much bigger” every year they host it.
There are nine perpetual pilgrims traveling with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage for the entire journey, which began in St. Augustine, Florida less than two weeks ago and will conclude in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the Fourth of July weekend.
Mary Carmen Zakrajsek, a perpetual pilgrim originally from Carmel, Indiana, said in a news conference after the procession that bringing the Eucharist into the streets has captivated people who encounter it: “Jesus walked this earth and he’s walking it again. He has not abandoned us.”
Zakrajsek called the pilgrimage a “unifying moment” and echoed the language in the Declaration of Independence that rights are endowed by our creator.
“Our moral authority does not come from the State,” she said. “It comes from God.”
'Witness to the whole world': Families gather for Eucharistic procession in Washington, D.C.
Along K Street in Washington, D.C., amid a humid morning on June 6, Catholics from across the area gathered to adore the Eucharist as it processed through the nationʼs capital.
Despite the heat and humidity, many parents and grandparents packed their little ones into strollers or baby carriers and brought them out to view the Eucharistic pilgrimage as it made its way through D.C. The local procession was a partnership between the Catholic Information Center and the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.
“I really like taking my kids to the Eucharistic processions for Corpus Christi,” Theresa Cambell said while pushing Augustine, three years old, and Rowena, nine months, in a stroller in the procession. “I think practical things really help them understand the significance of what is going on.”
Campbell, who lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, took her children to the Catholic Information Center procession last year. Though she wasn’t raised going to processions or adoration regularly with her family, Campbell said the tradition was important to her as she raises her own children so that they can better come to understand the Church.
A big part of this, she said, was her own active participation.
“Children have a very natural orientation towards liturgy, and I think that the reverence that everyone has in the tradition actually does most of the teaching,” Cambell said. “And then, you know, we do explain that it is the body and blood of Christ and that the procession is for Corpus Christi, and we try to tie that into the liturgical year.”
Maria and Pedro Estrada of Reston, Virginia, practice similar worship habits with their four children. The couple moved to the United States from Argentina six years ago and grew up attending similar events with their families.
Estrada said she and her husband take their children to adoration regularly and practice family prayer to get them interested in Jesus and the Church.
“At home, we pray a lot,” Estrada explained. “We pray the rosary in front of our kids, and they see us and they try to imitate us. They’re very interested in Jesus and His love for us, and we explain that all the things we have, and the way we are, is because of Jesus, and because He loves us. And it’s nice to Him that we, you know, give Him some of the love He gave us.”
Julie Enzler of Alexandria, Virginia, helped take her 15-month-old granddaughter through the procession while her daughter volunteered with the Catholic Information Center.
“What I appreciate about the procession through the city is the witness that we can give to the whole world of our Eucharistic Lord present in the midst of us, and to bring the power of his love to the streets,” Enzler said. “It’s something we try to do in person every day, hopefully, but just to make Him present in the lives of people who wouldn’t necessarily find Him.”
Enzler said that all her grandchildren are being raised in the Catholic Church and attending Corpus Christi processions, even though she herself did not growing up. This, she hopes, will help them to orient their lives toward God.
Enzler said she knows how valuable it is to bring Christ with you wherever you go, whether that be spiritually or in actuality.
“Because the Church is the body of Christ, we all need each other,” Enzler explained. “We all need the witness of new life in the body. And the children need the witness of adults doing things that might be uncomfortable.”
“For old people, it’s uncomfortable on your knees,” she continued. “And for other ages, maybe it’s uncomfortable to be seen practicing your faith or witnessing to your faith in the Eucharist, which is something that’s not obvious without faith.”
Enzler said that she feels the United States is poised to accept Christ at this moment, and that showing the next generation of Catholics what faithful adoration looks like can help spread this.
“I’m really grateful to the [Catholic Information Center] for offering this opportunity and for the word of hope that this event brings to the streets of Washington, D.C. at a time where the country seems particularly open to the practice of faith and the witness of faith,” she said.
“I know there’s a lot of prayers begging more and more graces, so I’m grateful,” she said. “There’s always the grace that we can count on, but we can’t see or quantify.”
Pope Leo XIV laments death of Mozambique bishop killed in 'grave act of violence'
Pope Leo XIV on June 6 mourned the death of Quelimane Bishop Osório Citora Afonso after the Mozambique prelate was killed during what authorities said was a home invasion.
Government officials earlier in the day said Afonso was killed by gunshot when assailants invade his home. The prelate, who was appointed to lead the diocese in July 2025, had warned repeatedly of violence in the region prior to his death.
A press release from the Holy See said Pope Leo XIV had “learned with sorrow of the grave act of violence” that took Afonsoʼs life. The bishop led the Quelimane Diocese and also served as apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Beira.
The pope “joins in prayer with the people of the Dioceses and of Mozambique in this hour of bewilderment, so that the Lord may give them consolation, so that he may guard in his love every man and woman and stop the hand of violence,” the statement said.
Earlier in the day Episcopal Conference of Mozambique President Archbishop Inácio Saúre said in a statement that he “appeal[ed] for serenity in faith and fraternal solidarity, in the hope that we will be able, in due course, to provide accurate and detailed information regarding this sad event.”
‘Dark clouds’ over southern African nation
The papal charity Aid to the Church in Need also mourned Afonsoʼs passing on June 6. The charity said the murder “adds yet another dark cloud over the Church in Mozambique.”
The Church there “is already grappling with terrorist violence in the north of the country, particularly in Cabo Delgado Province,” the organization said. Afonso had warned several times prior to his murder of the threat of violence in that province.
Mozambique “remains a priority country for ACN, which has supported the local Church at many levels, not only through humanitarian aid, but also by promoting psychosocial support and the reconstruction of infrastructure,” the charity said.
A Mass was planned for the repose of Afonsoʼs soul on June 6, with funeral arrangements to be announced later.
9 saints and Gaudí inspire faithful as pope’s visit to Spain gets underway
The national organizing committee of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Spain has proposed, through videos created with artificial intelligence, the lives of nine saints and one venerable, Antonio Gaudí, as examples of Christian life to inspire the faithful as this ecclesial event gets underway.
The choice of these holy men and women is related to the venues of the pontifical visit and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, given that the Holy Father will celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) on Sunday, June 7, in Madrid.
The project presents 10 people who “searched for God in the world” and “found the extraordinary in the ordinary.”
Representing Madrid, St. Isidore the Laborer (or Farmer) and St. Mary of the Head have been selected as “examples of holiness in marriage, at work, and in ordinary life,” as well as St. Soledad Torres Acosta, founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary Ministers of the Sick.
Representing Barcelona are Venerable Antonio Gaudí, architect of Sagrada Família Basilica, and St. Eulalia, a martyr and co-patroness of the city.
The saints selected from the Canary Islands are St. Peter of St. Joseph Betancourt, the first native of the islands to be canonized, and St. Joseph of Anchieta, a Jesuit missionary born in Tenerife who is known as the “Apostle of Brazil.”
Three other saints are highlighted for their Eucharistic devotion: St. Teresa of Ávila, reformer of the Carmelite order; St. Paschal Baylon, patron of Eucharistic congresses; and St. Manuel González, bishop of Palencia and founder of the Eucharistic Reparation Union, an apostolate that includes both lay and consecrated persons.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Women in the Vatican welcome Montserrat Alvarado as new prefect for communication
An association of women working in the Vatican has welcomed the appointment of Maria Montserrat Alvarado as the new prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.
“On behalf of the Women in the Vatican Association (DIVA), I would like to extend our warmest wishes to you on your new appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, entrusted to you by the Holy Father,” wrote association President Margarita Romanelli, who recently retired after working for 31 years at the Vatican in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Pope Leo XIV named Alvarado, the president and chief operating officer of EWTN News since 2023, as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication on June 2. The appointment will take effect Nov. 1. She is the first laywoman who is neither consecrated nor a religious sister to hold such a post.
“Our association is composed, as the name suggests, of lay, religious, and consecrated women who work or have worked in the Holy See, the Roman Curia, and its affiliated institutions,” Romanelli’s statement said.
“Our purpose is to create an increasingly constructive and fruitful network of knowledge, friendship, and solidarity among all members, to promote their professional, human, and spiritual growth.”
“To respond to our vocation as women, our model is Mary, Mother of the Church, who urges us to make the most of all that femininity encompasses and signifies, striving to be witnesses of sisterhood as daughters of the one Father, and looking to the future as women of authentic Christian hope,” the statement continued.
“With renewed wishes for fruitful service, we earnestly invoke the Lord’s blessing upon your ecclesial mission, entrusting you [Alvarado] to the protection and intercession of the Most Holy Virgin.”
There are many women working in the Vatican who collaborate with the association, including many from the communication dicastery.
Alvarado will be 40 when she takes up her post in November. Like the pope, she has connections both to Latin America and the United States: She was born in Mexico City and educated in the U.S.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, an Italian language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Pope Leo XIV tells leaders in Spain that he comes to promote a national 'reconciliation'
MADRID — Pope Leo XIV told government leaders in Spain on June 6 that he came to the country “to confirm, encourage and inspire a renewed loyalty of believers to the Gospel, as well as a deeper reconciliation and cooperation between the different forces of this Nation.”
The Holy Father landed at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport after which he moved directly to the royal residence. There he was received with honors by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their daughters Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.
The pope warned that his message of reconciliation “resonates for some as naive and for others as provocative,” but he said it is “welcomed in those who do not close themselves in prefabricated ideologies, but who open up to the truth.”
“The truth is always greater than us and that is why it surprises us and attracts us to paths of purification and reconciliation, in which dialogue with others — and with the Other with capital letters — becomes fundamental,” he added.
In his speech, the pope cited two great Spanish mystics of the sixteenth century, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Jesus, both of whom he said are united by their “passion for the divine Mystery.”
He presented them as examples of “mystics with open eyes,” that is, “not alien to history, but, on the contrary, [getting at] the root of the questions, to the heart of reality.”
The pontiff also alluded to contemporary fears caused by “the darkness of reason and the violence of emotions,” and proposed as an antidote the need for men and women capable of “intuiting, in the darkness, the light.”
To illustrate this idea, he evoked the image of the “inner castle” developed by Saint Teresa of Jesus.
Far from proposing an evasive spirituality, the pope stressed that it is not “an intimate flight, but a radical opening” to the totus Alius et semper Novus, a theological expression that refers to the transcendence of God and that “is carried out when we return to ourselves.”
Protecting religious freedom and conscience
“This dimension of the human being is the reason why religious freedom and conscience must be protected,” he said.
He also quoted St. Ignatius of Loyola, who “preferred peace to weapons and saints to the powerful,” and he recalled the work of the School of Translators of Alfonso X the Wise, where specialists from the three religions collaborated in the transmission of classical and medieval knowledge.
He mentioned thinkers such as Averroes (1126-1198) and Maimonides (1138-1204) as examples of the possibility of cooperation between religious traditions for the common good.
“Our era, which apparently is shaken by terrible imbalances and conflicts, cries out in the deepest for peace, for a new knowledge of the human person and his inviolable dignity, for the civilization of love,” he said, alluding to his encyclical Magnifica humanitas, published on May 25.
The pope did not avoid addressing one of the most accentuated features of the current political context in Spain: polarization.
“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the fire of polarization seems to grow, instead of decreasing; human dignity does not stop being violated,” he lamented.
Aware of the social and political tension, the pontiff urged leaders to “abandon the divisive and polarizing narratives of your social reality and its history, to move from sterile simplifications to the fruitful appreciation of complexity.”
A visit with international implications
Although Leo XIV has already made other trips, this is his first major visit to a major European country. The pope briefly visited the city-state of Monaco in March.
The Holy Fatherʼs visit to Spain — the ninth that a pope has made to the country — transcends the national scope, by constituting a significant step in the pontiffʼs dialogue with the contemporary Western world in which the Catholic Church has a fundamental role.
This was also pointed out by Felipe VI, who took the floor before the pope and underlined his voice as a universal moral beacon, not only for Catholics: “[His voice] is today a source of inspiration for more than 1.4 billion faithful; but it resonates, by its ethical content, far beyond, in all consciences.”
“The Catholic Church is at the service of this thirst of the human heart. Not in an imposing way, but with the evangelical testimony backed by a multitude of martyrs and saints, and today she is willing to put herself at the service of the future of a people who seek reconciliation and peace,” he said.
“Catholic faith is rooted in our country and without it — you well know — our history and our culture would not be understood.”
The pope also had words of recognition towards Spain for its international role: he highlighted “fidelity to international law and multilateralism,” as well as its commitment to peace and solidarity. At the same time, he urged leaders to strengthen internal dialogue, attend to the most vulnerable and “harmonize the demands for autonomy and unity.”
This has not been the first meeting between the Spanish royal family and the pope.
On March 20, Felipe VI and Letizia traveled to Rome, where the monarch was invested in the proto-canon of the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor in a ceremony that highlighted the historical links between the Spanish monarchy and this temple.
Likewise, both the king and queen attended the opening Mass of the pontificate on May 18 of last year.