More than 1.2 million people have attended an open-air mass led by Pope Leo XIV in central Madrid, according to organisers, in a turnout that forced police to close the Spanish capital’s main thoroughfare.
The mass on June 7 at the Plaza de Cibeles marked the Solemnity of Corpus Christi and the central act of the Pope’s apostolic visit to Spain, his first since taking office. Spain’s Government Delegation put the crowd at around 1.1 million, somewhat below the organisers’ count.
The turnout exceeded the planners’ initial expectations, with worshippers still arriving after the area had filled. The police shut access to the Paseo de la Castellana from both the east and the west once the maximum occupancy set out for the event had been reached.
Pope Leo XIV reached the square at about 9.30am aboard the popemobile, greeted by chants of “long live the Pope”, before passing along the Paseo del Prado and circling the Plaza de Neptuno to greet the crowd. Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida presented him with the city’s Golden Key ahead of the ceremony.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attended alongside Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. They were joined by Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso and education minister Milagros Tolón, who represented the Spanish Government.
The visit, which runs until June 12, ends a 15-year absence of papal travel to Spain. The last pope to make the journey was Benedict XVI, who came to Madrid in 2010, while his successor Francis never visited the country before his death in April 2025.
Madrid laid on what officials described as an unprecedented mobility and security operation, with up to 1.8 million people expected across the visit’s two largest gatherings. A prayer vigil at the Plaza de Lima the previous evening drew large crowds of young people.
The police described the deployment as a logistical challenge and a test of stamina for the officers involved. The wider programme also takes in meetings with volunteers and figures from Spanish cultural, economic and sporting life.
The Corpus Christi mass was due to be followed by a eucharistic procession through the surrounding streets. The Pope is scheduled to travel on to Barcelona and the Canary Islands in the days ahead.
