Santiago Bernabeu, home ground of Spanish La Liga club, Real Madrid, will host Pope Leo XIV as the Head of the Catholic departs Rome for Spain on his Apostolic journey.
An announcement by the Holy See discloses, the Bernabeu will host a meeting on Monday, June 8 between Pope Leo XIV and the diocesan community of Madrid.
The event inside the retractable-roof football stadium is part of the Apostolic journey of the Sovereign of the Vatican City State in Spain.
The Pope is expected to land on Saturday 6 June, 2026 in Madrid City, and will remain in the Spanish Capital until the 9th, when he will take a trip to Barcelona.
He will head to the Canary Islands on 11 June, and return to Rome on 12th.
This will be the second time the Santiago Bernabeu will host a papal event. In 1982, on 3 November, Pope John Paul II paid a visit to the Stadium for the Celebration of the Word with thousands of young people from around the world.
Pope Leo XIV’s programme in Madrid commences with an official welcome ceremony, followed by a courtesy visit to Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.
Subsequently, the Bishop of Rome will meet with representatives of civil societies, authorities and the diplomatic corps at the Palace.
Later in the day (at night), the Pope will preside over a prayer vigil with young people in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima.
Photo: Santiago Bernabeu | REAL MADRID CF
