Pope Leo faces stiff competition from Bad Bunny for attention in Spain | News World

Pope Leo arrived today in Madrid for a week-long tour of Spain (Picture: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

Pope Leo has admitted he’s facing some competition as he arrived in Spain for every week long visit.

The 70-year-old pontiff is in Madrid at the identical time Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny stages a string of live shows within the Spanish capital.

Leo acknowledged that faced with the selection, young Spaniards would likely decide to see the six-time Grammy award winner over him.

Nevertheless he still hoped his visit would ‘awaken’ young adults, who he said were sensing an absence of meaning of their lives.

Bad Bunny will proceed a series of ten shows in Madrid this evening, where he’s as a consequence of perform on the Riyadh Air Metropolitano until June 15, before coming to London at the top of the month.

The Pope’s arrival comes as each Spain’s political and spiritual leadership have been embroiled in scandals.

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Pope Leo XIV delivers a speech during his welcoming ceremony at the Royal Palace, 6 June 2026, in Madrid (Spain). The reception brings together the highest authorities of the State and the Catholic Church in Spain and marks the official start of the pontiff's agenda in the country. 06 Jun 2026 Pictured: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attend the welcoming ceremony for Pope Leo XIV at the Royal Palace, 6 June 2026, in Madrid (Spain). The reception brings together the highest authorities of the State and the Catholic Church in Spain and marks the official start of the pontiff's agenda in the country. 06 JUNE 2026;ROYAL PALACE;POPE LEON XIV;ROYAL HOUSE;MADRID J.J. Guill?n / EFE / Pool 06/06/2026. Photo credit: Europa Press / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com sales@mega.global
The Pope with King Felipe of Spain (centre) at Madrid’s Royal Palace (Picture: Europa Press/MEGA)

Following a welcome ceremony on the Royal Palace in Madrid with King Felipe and Queen Letizia today, the Pope will meet prime minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday.

He’ll then travel to Barcelona on Tuesday, where he’ll lead a prayer vigil at the town’s Lluís Companys stadium.

His visit will conclude within the Canary Islands on Wednesday and Thursday, during which he’ll meet religious leaders in Gran Canaria and migrants at Las Raíces centre in Tenerife.

Greater than half of Spaniards discover as Catholic, although most define as non-practicing.

Nevertheless the nation is united by a love of football.

Bad Bunny is doing two weeks of live shows at Madrid’s Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium (Picture: EPA/Shutterstock)

Asked in regards to the upcoming World Cup, Pope Leo said his support could be behind his home country and co-hosts, the US.

But tasked with selecting between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the previous an emblem of Spanish unionism, the latter Catalan nationalism, he separated his views from the position traditionally taken by the pontiff.

‘That’s easy’, he said.

‘The pope is for all teams, but Prevost is Real Madrid’, referring to his surname by birth.

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