Pope Leo draws huge crowds to Madrid Corpus Domini Mass

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass before vast crowds in central Madrid on Sunday, honoring Spain’s centuries-old tradition of Catholic devotion as a “school of faith” and leading a Corpus Domini procession over carpets made from tens of thousands of flower petals.

Local organizers said 1.2 million people packed Plaza de Cibeles and surrounding streets for the Mass and procession, with more people trying to get in. The crowd cheered as Leo arrived in his popemobile, looping around the plaza and nearby streets during the first papal visit to Spain in 15 years. Some shouted, “This is the youth of the pope!”

The Mass fell on the Catholic feast of Corpus Domini, a day often marked by processions through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist. In Spain and other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions frequently include elaborate floral carpets laid along the route.

Spanish organizers said 16 flower carpets decorated the half-kilometer procession route off Plaza de Cibeles. A Spanish florists association from Galicia prepared the displays using more than 30,000 flowers, mostly in the yellow and white colors of the Holy See flag. Some designs included symbols such as the Holy See keys.

In his homily, Leo said Spain’s Corpus Domini processions and floral carpets express the country’s “spiritual sentiments” through “altars erected in the streets.”

“This is not an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty,” he said. “It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us.”

Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of a weeklong visit, has sought to highlight the country’s long tradition of Catholic devotion and encourage younger generations to engage with the faith in a society where religious observance has waned. On Saturday, he urged Spaniards to end polarization and work for unity.

“Herein lies the task of Spain today and in the future: to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today,” he said Sunday.

At the end of the Mass, Leo carried a gilded monstrance holding a Eucharistic host and walked over the flower carpets. Children dropped additional petals before him, while people behind barricades tossed petals into the air.

The turnout followed a large youth vigil Saturday night, when an estimated 600,000 young Spaniards gathered with Leo and knelt for several minutes in silent prayer.

“Let me take the opportunity to tell all of you: Don’t ever be afraid of thinking about a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, or other services in the church!” Leo told the vigil crowd.

Irati Valda and Javier Hormazal, a young couple, held up a cardboard sign saying they planned to marry on June 13 and were brought forward to receive Leo’s blessing.

“To see so many young people together, it’s incredible. Half a million people in silence, this is something you will only live once,” Valda said.

The tradition of laying flower carpets, which are destroyed as the procession passes over them, dates back two centuries and is also popular in Latin America, where sand designs are also made. The displays are considered an offering to the Eucharist. Poland’s Corpus Domini flower carpets have been recognized by UNESCO, and Spain’s Galicia region is seeking recognition of its tradition with other countries as intangible cultural heritage.

Spain also continues to draw large crowds to religious processions, pilgrimages and feast days, including Holy Week processions and the El Rocío pilgrimage in Andalusia, which brings about a million people over Pentecost weekend to venerate an icon of the Virgin Mary.