MADRID, June 7 — Over a million people filled the streets near one of Madrid's main squares on Sunday to join Pope Leo XIV for an outdoor Mass, likely to be the largest event of his week-long visit to Spain, where the pope said God stands with society's poor and forsaken.
Throngs of people pressed along barriers near the landmark Plaza de Cibeles, waving flags and shouting "Long live the pope", as the pontiff arrived in his white popemobile for the event. Some tossed flower petals as he arrived in the square.
The Vatican and local organisers said that some 1.2 million people were in the square and its surrounding streets.
His Holiness urged the crowds to live their Catholic faith by helping others in his Mass sermon. Pope Leo said that God "identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone, and forsaken".
The pontiff also expressed hope earlier that Madrid would "remain a welcoming and inclusive city, where social life is inspired by genuine human values" in a message in a guestbook as he was handed the key to the city by its mayor.
The Pope began his trip on Saturday with meetings with migrants and the homeless and a vigil with about 600,000 young people in Madrid. His June 6 to June 12 visit also includes stops in Barcelona and the Canary Islands, where he will meet migrants who have risked their lives crossing there from West Africa.
His Holiness said he hoped the visit, his first to a European Union country outside Italy, would set an example to the world about respecting "every human being" and urged leaders to stop dividing electorates.
"I am delighted that he is praying for us migrants and for our safety," said Andrea Margarita, a 72-year-old Peruvian who arrived in Spain six months ago, as she waited in the crowd in a wheelchair with her daughter.
After Mass, the pontiff was scheduled to hold a private meeting with fellow members of his Augustinian religious order in the afternoon before meeting figures from the world of entertainment, sport, and culture at a concert venue in central Madrid.
