The Pope asks Spain that religiosity “not be a museum of the past to visit” at the Corpus Mass

Pope Leo XIV asked this Sunday, during the Corpus Christi Mass, that religiosity not be “a museum of the past to visit” and stressed that Christians are “called to be present in the situations and challenges of society” and in the “construction of the common good.” “No one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother,” he declared during the homily.

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The Pontiff presided today over the Eucharist of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, in front of the Cibeles fountain, at an altar that yesterday, against the clock, workers had just finished outlining and to which they gave a final coat of paint to make it shine for the occasion. This Sunday’s was the Pope’s first multitudinous mass in Spain – with 1.2 million faithful, according to the organizers – and culminated with the procession with the monstrance, under a canopy. An image that occurred last year in Rome, just weeks after the election of Leo XIV. Most of the bishops of the Spanish Episcopal Conference concelebrated, among them the Archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Juan José Omella, who, along with the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, played a prominent role.

“Here is a commission for the Spain of today and tomorrow: that religiosity, which for centuries has not been a museum of the past to visit, but a school of faith from which to drink even today,” Robert Prevost pointed out during the homily after speaking about the tradition of Corpus Christi. “We too are called to be present in the situations and challenges of society, not to flee, to commit ourselves personally to the construction of the common good,” he added later, after noting that the festivity celebrated today invites us to return “to the roots of faith.”

Furthermore, the Pope also emphasized that “no one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother” and demanded that the Eucharist not confine the faithful “to private devotion.” “It sends us to water our brothers, families, the poor, those who suffer, those who have lost hope,” he concluded, linking this message to the one he already delivered yesterday at a Caritas center with disadvantaged groups. “It is not only about bringing out the monstrance, but about letting ourselves be drawn out of selfishness, indifference, a comfortable and private faith, to respond to his invitation to conversion, to change our outlook, to welcome his presence that transforms us and makes us builders of a new world,” he stated at another point in his sermon.

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“The solemn processions of this day have for centuries embodied the piety, art, music, architecture, and life of the Spanish people and, even today, express and manifest the spiritual sentiment of this country also through the beauty and elegance of floral carpets, street altars, the care of monstrances and displays, songs, and ornaments,” the Pontiff highlighted at the beginning, when he gave a historical overview of the tradition of this festivity, which now goes hand in hand with Charity Day.

At the vigil with young people held this Saturday night, there were, according to police estimates, half a million young people. For this Sunday’s mass, communion was planned to be given to half a million people who were in the streets adjacent to the fountain where Real Madrid celebrates its titles. On this occasion, the authorities occupied the front rows along with the priests who concelebrated from below.

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After a first day with a marked political character, the Pope launched a more internal message this Sunday, addressed to the faithful who attended the celebration. In the afternoon, the Pontiff will hold a meeting with representatives from the world of culture, art, economy, and sports, which will include social agents, employers’ associations, and trade unions. It will be at the Movistar Arena and Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE; Unai Sordo, general secretary of Comisiones Obreras; Pepe Álvarez, general secretary of UGT; and Ángela de Miguel, president of Cepyme, the employers’ association for small and medium-sized enterprises, will speak. A little earlier, in a private meeting, Prevost will receive Augustinians from various parts of Spain, as he belongs to that order and, in fact, was its superior between 2001 and 2013.

As happened yesterday, throughout today the Pontiff will be accompanied by Cardinal Cobo, who at the beginning of the Eucharist addressed words of welcome to Prevost. “This Church has learned that it is not called to build walls, but to open doors and to rekindle the fire of the Spirit in the midst of the city,” he said in a brief intervention.

Although the mass started at 10:00, two hours earlier both Cibeles and its surroundings were already full of people, some, the most foresighted, equipped with an umbrella to protect themselves from the scorching sun that was falling from early morning. Although the atmosphere was rather calm and expectant, with the hum of helicopters present at all times, some were encouraged to sing early in the morning. They were only a few.

With the city still waking up, only interrupted by the chants of the volunteers – again “This is the Pope’s youth!” – at the insistence of reporters who needed resources, the passage of the popemobile through Cibeles finished waking up those present half an hour before the start of the Eucharist.

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