After his two-day visit to Catalonia, Pope Leo XIV took off at 08:45 this Thursday from Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport bound for the Canary Islands, the last leg of his trip to Spain.
The pontiff was seen off on the airport tarmac by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu; the Government Delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto; the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and Cardinal Archbishop Juan José Omella, among other political, military, and ecclesiastical authorities.
The Pope's plane, an Airbus 320 from Iberia, which also carries the Vatican delegation and a group of about 80 journalists from different countries, is expected to arrive around eleven in the morning at the Gran Canaria/Gando air base.
A trip with great symbolism
Leo XIV leaves Barcelona after two days of an intense schedule that culminated this Wednesday with the solemn mass commemorating the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, "the architect of God," as the Pope called him, and the blessing of the Tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Familia, the tallest church in the world.
It was one of the most symbolic and significant events of Leo XIV's trip to Catalonia, which was attended by the King and the country's main authorities and concluded with an impressive light and sound show.
His Catalan agenda, with a strong social focus, also took him to the Barcelona Cathedral, where he deviated from the script twice to greet the faithful; to the Abbey of Montserrat, where he venerated "La Moreneta"; to the parish of San Agustín, in the Raval neighborhood, and to the Brians 1 penitentiary center, becoming the first pontiff to visit a Spanish prison.
The Pope, who alternated Catalan and Spanish in all his speeches in Catalonia, also presided over a massive prayer vigil on Tuesday at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in front of nearly 40,000 people.
Two days in the Canary Islands
The Pope's island agenda will begin shortly before noon at the port of Arguineguín, the epicenter of the Canary Islands migration route, where the Holy Father will hold a meeting with immigrants and their "ocean angels", referring to Maritime Rescue, security forces, and fishermen, who are often the first to assist them when they arrive by sea in Spain.
Robert Prevost will then head to the Cathedral of Santa Ana and will end the day by giving a homily at the Gran Canaria Stadium before some 36,000 people.
On Friday morning he will fly to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where he will first meet with migrants at the Las Raíces center and later, in the Plaza de Cristo de La Laguna, he will preside over a meeting with church groups and other organizations working with immigration.
The last act of his trip to Spain will be at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where at 12:15 PM he will preside over a mass.
Fifteen years after the last papal visit, Spain has once again received a pontiff, Leo XIV, becoming the first country in the European Union to do so.
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