Pope Leo XIV concludes this Friday in Tenerife a historic visit to Spain in which he has been preaching the doctrine of human priority, that of the care and welcome of all fellow human beings, looking not at their origin, but at their needs.
This has been one of Leo XIV's main messages to the Christian community during this visit, in which he has traveled through Madrid, Barcelona, and Gran Canaria, and which concludes in Tenerife, his shortest stage before returning to the Vatican on Friday afternoon.
As soon as he got off the plane around nine in the morning, Pope Leo XIV will travel to the Las Raíces migrant reception center, managed by the social work organization Accem for the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations.
There, basic needs are met and guidance is provided to people arriving on the islands by sea from the African continent, following the Canarian route of cayucos and makeshift boats.
The majority of the 685 currently housed are from Senegal, Gambia, and Mali, all of whom arrived in the Canary Islands by cayuco and almost all to the island of El Hierro.
The people of El Hierro have been unanimously praised, also by the Pope on this trip, for the solidarity shown with the tens of thousands of people who have arrived on their shores.
Two of these migrants have wanted to speak to the Pope at the event that the pontiff will hold in Las Raíces, where he will also address the employees who provide services in this facility.
From the migrant reception center, Leo XIV will move to Plaza del Cristo, in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the seat of the Bishopric of the Nivariense Diocese, where he will hold a meeting with ecclesial and social organizations working with migrants.
After this meeting, Leo XIV will move to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital, whose streets, adorned with flowers, he will travel through aboard his popemobile towards the city's port.
There he will officiate a massive mass shortly after noon, a celebration in which the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Luis Argüello, two Venezuelan cardinals, the bishop of Nouakchott, Víctor Ndiane, will participate, in total about 300 concelebrants.
The mass will have a strong migratory symbolism: the altar, designed with volcanic stone, picón, and native plants, will have the ocean as its backdrop and around it three cayucos of those who arrived in the Canary Islands, a silent presence of the migratory epic.
After mass, Pope Leo XIV will tour the port area to greet the gathered faithful, before moving to Los Rodeos airport, where at around 2:30 PM a farewell ceremony will be held with the presence of King Felipe VI, prior to the plane's departure for Rome.
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