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

Usa today news

3 hours ago

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

MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 06: His Holiness Pope Leo XIV attends his welcome ceremony at Royal Palace on June 06, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. Pope Leo XIV is making an apostolic journey to Spain from June 6???12, marking the first papal visit to the country since Benedict XVI visited in 2011. During the trip Pope Leo travels to Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Many of his planned engagements center on issues around marginalized people, youth, and migrants, alongside meetings with the Spanish royals, government figures, and church officials. A highlight of the itinerary sees Pope Leo inaugurate the recently completed Tower of Jesus Christ spire at the Bas??lica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the architect Antoni Gaud??'s death. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images) — Pope Leo arrived today in Madrid for a week-long tour of Spain (Picture: Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

Pope Leo has admitted he is facing some competition as he arrived in Spain for a week long visit.

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

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

However he still hoped his visit would ‘awaken’ young adults, who he said were sensing a lack of meaning in their lives.

Bad Bunny will continue a series of ten shows in Madrid this evening, where he is due to perform at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano until June 15, before coming to London at the end of the month.

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

Sign up for all of the latest stories

Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.

The Pope with King Felipe of Spain (centre) at Madrid’s Royal Palace (Picture: Europa Press/MEGA)

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

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

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

More than half of Spaniards identify as Catholic, although most define as non-practicing.

However the nation is united by a love of football.

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

Asked about the upcoming World Cup, Pope Leo said his support would be behind his home country and co-hosts, the US.

But tasked with choosing between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the former a symbol 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.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.