Politicians were the first to approach the Pope due to his status as head of state, but when Robert Prevost freed himself from obligations and protocol, escorted at all times by the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, he opted for the poor and the young as the primary recipients of a message he assures is for everyone. For believers, especially, but also for society in general, he pointed out early on the papal flight.
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Leo XIV visited the Cedia 24-hour center of Cáritas, in the peripheral neighborhood of Lucero –“at a crossroads of neighborhoods, Carabanchel, Latina, Aluche, Lucero, with names that taste of simple life,” Cobo pointed out–, an event with emotional significance for both the Pontiff and the people linked to the center, who enjoyed a closeness with Prevost that most of the faithful attending the celebrations with the Pontiff these days will not have. Some even hugged him. But he had already been warned. The Cardinal of Madrid announced in his introduction: “From this place, the diocese of Madrid wants to offer you the first of the many hugs you will receive these days: a hug born at this humble and narrow door, from which one enters the city and, at the same time, learns to truly look at it.”
And if the attendees had the joy of hugging and greeting the Pope, the neighbors overlooking the courtyard of the venue –also a basketball court–, from Peru, Cuba, Ecuador, and the La Mancha town of Castillo de Bayuela –each with their flag hanging from the balcony, although the latter’s was the largest and most visible– enjoyed a privileged view at all times, with the background chants of the people who had been left outside. “The Pope is Peruvian!” they shouted, especially one neighbor who was originally from Chiclayo, the Peruvian diocese where Prevost was, who finally greeted them.
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The Pope wanted to make it clear that for him, this was his first act in Madrid. “I am very happy to begin my visit to Madrid here,” said the Pontiff, who took the opportunity to emphasize that “charity admits no delays” and to launch a message against indifference to poverty and against political stances that do not take injustice into account.
“Charity admits no delays,” says the Pope from a Cáritas center for people without resources
After hearing the testimony of some people assisted in that space and of a volunteer, Leo XIV asked not to replace the Gospel with a “worldly mentality.” “Christians, too, on many occasions, allow themselves to be infected by attitudes marked by worldly ideologies or by political and economic positions that lead to unjust generalizations and misleading conclusions,” stated Robert Prevost. “The fact that the exercise of charity is despised or ridiculed, as if it were the obsession of a few and not the incandescent core of the ecclesial mission, makes me think that it is always necessary to reread the Gospel, so as not to run the risk of replacing it with a worldly mentality,” the Pope concluded, citing his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te . Furthermore, he stressed that “it is not possible to forget the poor” if one does not want to “step outside the living current of the Church that springs from the Gospel” and urged to “cultivate a sensitive heart to the needs of others,” at which point he quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, with one of his messages against indifference.
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After that almost intimate atmosphere, Prevost mingled with the youth of the diocese of Madrid, who 15 years later once again chanted words their predecessors had already heard: “This is the Pope’s youth.”
The event with the youngest, in a question-and-answer format, as in World Youth Day, concluded with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, something not planned in Barcelona, in Montjuïc, as in Catalonia there will only be a prayer vigil.
Leo XIV left them a simple message: to change the world, you don’t need to be an influencer , but authentically human and credible people. “The mission I entrust to you is precisely this: be human. Yes, be human!” he encouraged them.
Half a million people embrace the Pope at the event dedicated to young people, in Plaza Lima
The Pontiff gathered half a million faithful and traveled along the Paseo de la Castellana aboard the popemobile amidst an enthusiastic crowd. Even from the buildings near the Bernabéu, whose residents are usually especially sensitive to noise and have waged a long legal battle against concerts promoted by Florentino Pérez, many participated in the celebration by hanging Spanish flags and yellow banners with the face of the Bishop of Rome.
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