9 June 26
El Papa Llega
I am not Christian, let alone Catholic, but I have been entranced by the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain. He has a lot of fans in the United States: the first American pope has not been afraid to take on American authoritarianism. The spectacle of his tour in Madrid and now Barcelona has been affirming somehow, what with 1.2 million people present for the Mass he led in the Plaza de Cibeles on Sunday. I’ve watched a couple of his speeches in Spanish and the bit that he read today in Catalan.
Tomorrow is I think the centerpiece of his trip to Spain — he will go to the Sagrada Familia where he will inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ on the 100th anniversary of the death of the architect of the cathedral, Antonio Gaudí. This centenary would have a big deal in Barcelona even without the visit of the Pope, but he clearly was happy to time his visit to Spain to be present for it.
Prior to the event at the Sagrada Familia, he is heading up to the monastery at Montserrat. Visiting both sites in one day seems like too much to take in, but he won’t have to stand in line to enter. If I were him, I’d ask to see the Llibre Vermell.
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