Pope Benedict XIV will visit Spain: He will bring a message for Europe and the Catholic Church.

The Pope – visiting places associated with great saints, including Ávila on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Saint Teresa, and the birthplace of Saint Ignatius – followed in the footsteps of great Spanish saints and reminded the world of Spain's role in the history of the Church. He also spoke strongly about the Christian identity of Europe, and one of the most powerful speeches of his pontificate on this topic was delivered in Santiago de Compostela and is now known as the "European Act." The Holy Father then recalled, along with Goethe, that it was on the pilgrimage route leading to the tomb of Saint James that European consciousness was born. And he called out: "Europe, (…) Find yourself! Be yourself! Discover your origins. Breathe life into your roots. Breathe life into these authentic values (…) Other continents are looking at you and expect the same answer that Saint James gave to Christ: 'I can.'"

The enduring need for mission

The next papal visit to Spain took place in 1984, and the several-hour stay on the Iberian Peninsula was a stop on a journey following in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his second voyage and the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of evangelization in the Americas. John Paul II visited Zaragoza, from where Columbus set sail for the other side of the ocean.

In the Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, where the Virgin Mary is venerated as the patroness of all Spanish-speaking Catholics (and today, the most Catholics in the world speak Spanish), the Holy Father, in his address to missionaries and their families, recalled that it was in this place, "in the ancient tradition of the shrine of Pilar, that the apostolic dimension of the Church is revealed in all its beauty." He thanked the Spanish people for their missionary service, which has lasted for centuries, and emphasized the importance of Marian devotion in a country where "to say Spain is to say Mary."

Youth is the future of Europe and the world

The occasion for a third trip to Spain was the Fourth World Youth Day, held in Santiago de Compostela in August 1989. Its motto was the words from the Gospel of Saint John: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." It is significant that the Polish Pope chose one of the oldest pilgrimage routes in Europe for the first meeting of young people from all over the world outside of Rome (and Buenos Aires in 1987) in order to remind young people that they should follow Christ in life, and to show the world – and especially Europe, which was still strongly rejecting totalitarian oppression – that these young people are the future, bravely seeking their Christian identity.

“Patron of pilgrims, stand at the head of this pilgrimage of young Christians. And just as nations once turned to you, so today, go out to meet all nations with us. Together with you, Saint James, apostle and pilgrim, we want to proclaim to the nations of Europe and the world that Christ is – today and forever – the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” emphasized John Paul II in Santiago.

The world needs the Eucharist

Each of the papal visits, however multifaceted and full of meaning in every aspect of the program, had its "main theme." In the case of John Paul II's 4th trip to Spain in June 1993, it was the conclusion of the 45th International Eucharistic Congress and the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the evangelization of America. For these two reasons, he visited primarily Seville (the location of the congress), Huelva, associated with Christopher Columbus, and Madrid, where he ordained 37 deacons as priests.

The Pope recalled the importance of the Eucharist in Christian life and the responsibility of Catholics in social life, which at that time was marked by processes of European integration, but also secularization. It is also significant that Spain became the first destination of his pilgrimage to Western Europe after the pivotal year of 1989 – in addition to visits to Malta and Portugal, which he made on the anniversary of the assassination attempt (May 13th).

The legacy of the saints and the roots

During his last two-day visit to Spain in May 2003, whose motto was the words from the Acts of the Apostles, "You will be my witnesses," John Paul II, already seriously ill, went only to Madrid. At the Cuatro Vientos airport, he met with 700,000 young people, and the next day, in the presence of a million believers, he canonized five Spaniards.

“Do not abandon your Christian roots! Only then will you be able to offer the world and Europe the cultural richness of your history,” the Pope appealed at the time. His words became a kind of legacy that he left to the local Church, again called to actively participate in the destiny of the world that was entering the third millennium.

Strengthening for families

At a time when Spanish society was polarized by reforms that were not always in line with Church teaching, the bishops sought to strengthen the faithful, among other things, by organizing the 5th World Meeting of Families, which took place in Valencia in July 2006. Participation in it became an opportunity for Benedict XVI's first visit to Spain, where the Pope arrived with a strong message of support for families.

“The family, founded on the indissoluble bond between a man and a woman, is the environment in which a person can be born with dignity and develop fully,” said the Pope during a meeting with a crowd of two million believers, and his words were a clear reference to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Spanish law in July 2005.

Compostela and Sagrada Familia – a dialogue of faith and culture

The occasion for Benedict XVI's second visit to Spain was the Holy Year of Saint James, which is celebrated in the years when July 25th falls on a Sunday. This was the case in 2010, and the papal visit, during which he visited Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona, where he blessed Gaudí's monumental work – the Sagrada Familia – became an opportunity to once again remind Europe to rediscover its Christian identity – and through its cultural and artistic traditions.

“Europe must open itself to God, embrace Him without fear, and cooperate with His grace for the benefit of human dignity, as revealed by the best traditions: alongside the biblical tradition, which is of fundamental importance in this regard, there are also the ancient, medieval, and modern traditions, from which great philosophical, literary, cultural, and social works of Europe have emerged,” the Pope said.

Persevering despite the storms

The occasion for the last papal pilgrimage to Spain was the 26th World Youth Day, which was held in Madrid in August 2011. Its motto was the words "Rooted and built on Christ, strong in faith," and the Pope's encouragement to young people not to be afraid of obstacles in professing their faith took on an unexpectedly practical significance. On the one hand, due to anti-church protests that flooded the streets of Madrid in the presence of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. On the other hand, due to an unexpected storm that swept over the Cuatro Vientos airport during the evening vigil with the Holy Father.

Benedict XVI remained with the young people and prayed with them in the rain until the very end. “We have shared an adventure together,” he told them at the end of the vigil. “Just as you have tonight, with Christ you will always be able to face the trials of life. Remember that.”

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