BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV will hold Mass at Barcelona’s iconic La Sagrada Familia on Wednesday where he will offer a papal blessing to the highest spire of what is now the tallest church in the world.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Sagrada Familia’s distinctive Modernist basilica has been under construction for more than 140 years but, in February, work finally finished on the central Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at 566 feet high and is crowned with a gigantic five-story ceramic cross.The Mass in Barcelona will be a capstone of Leo’s weeklong visit to Spain, his first significant European trip since being elected pontiff last year and the first papal trip to the predominantly Catholic nation in 15 years.
Although rates of church attendance have declined sharply in Spain — like much of Western Europe — the Vatican said that around 1.2 million people turned out on the streets of Madrid on Sunday as the pontiff presided over a vast outdoor Mass.On Monday, Leo became the first pontiff to address the Spanish parliament, warning lawmakers that military conflict and political polarization were pushing the world into “a profound spiritual and cultural crisis.”Pope Leo XIV is greeted by crowds Monday at Calle Mayor in Madrid.Pablo Cuadra / Getty ImagesHe also spoke out against Europe’s ramped-up defense spending — which is rising in response to Russia’s four-year war in Ukraine and the Trump administration’s criticism of NATO — and called on European governments instead to spend their money on peacemaking initiatives and helping the needy.
“Weapons can impose a temporary silence, but they can never build an authentic and lasting peace,” he said.At both events, he spoke almost exclusively in Spanish as he will for most of his trip, although he is expected to make some comments in Catalan, the predominant language in Catalonia, the autonomous region in nor...