Pope begins six-day Spain visit with stops in Madrid, Canary Islands

Pope Leo XIV begins a six-day visit to Spain, with stops in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. He plans to bless the Jesus Tower of the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona and meet with migrants and abuse victims. The Catholic Church in Spain hopes the visit will increase the number of people identifying as Catholic, as the percentage of Spaniards who identify as Catholic has decreased from nearly 100% in the 1970s to just over half today.