Leo XIV lands in Gran Canaria: for the first time a pope visits the islands

Pope Leo XIV landed at 10:39 AM (9:45 AM GMT) at the Gran Canaria Air Base on a flight from Barcelona to begin a visit closely tied to the phenomenon of immigration, which is also historic, as no pontiff had ever traveled to the Canary Islands before.

Leo XIV was received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the president of the autonomous community, Fernando Clavijo; and the ministers Félix Bolaños (Presidency), Margarita Robles (Defense), and Ángel Víctor Torres (Territorial Policy); as well as the Bishop of the Canary Islands, José Mazuelos; and his auxiliary bishop, Cristóbal Déniz.

Authorities such as the president of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Astrid Pérez; the president of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales; the Government delegate, Anselmo Pestana; and the mayors of Telde and Ingenio, the two municipalities where the air base is located, Juan Antonio Peña and Vanesa Martín, also joined the welcome.

With this visit, Robert Prevost fulfills the wish of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who passed away last year and had planned this trip to the Canary Islands to be close to immigrants and the rescue and reception teams, moved by the thousands of lives the Atlantic has claimed in recent years among people trying to reach Europe on precarious vessels.

In fact, the visit opens in just one hour at the Arguineguín pier, in the south of the island, the main operations base for Maritime Rescue in Gran Canaria and the epicenter of the bulk of rescues until 2023, when most of the cayucos began to head directly towards the island of El Hierro.

Accompanied by Pedro Sánchez and Fernando Clavijo, in Arguineguín the pontiff will listen to testimonies from people who have survived a multi-day journey in a cayuco, from their rescuers, and from volunteers of humanitarian organizations collaborating in their reception.

And, in one of the most symbolic acts of his entire visit, he is expected to lay flowers at sea for all those who never arrived.

The visit continues afterwards in the island's capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with a meeting with the religious community of the Archipelago at the Cathedral of Santa Ana (1:15 PM, 12:15 PM GMT) and a large mass at the stadium (6:30 PM, 5:30 PM GMT).

The Pope will sleep on Thursday night at the Episcopal Palace of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a few meters from the cathedral, and on Friday will take a flight at 8:40 AM (7:40 AM GMT) to Tenerife, where he will complete the last scheduled events of his visit to Spain.