Hundreds of thousands of youth pack central Madrid plaza for lively event with Pope Leo

Описание: (6 Jun 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Madrid, Spain - 6 June 2026
1. Woman draped in Spanish flag sitting on someone’s shoulders as she waits for Pope
2. Crowd waiting for Pope
3. Police motorcycle escort arriving at youth event
4. Pope arriving in Popemobile
5. Pope waving to crowd
6. Group of young people accompanying Pope up to altar area
7. Smartphone raised above crowd
8. Pope walking to his seat
9. Wide of stage
10. Various of group performing songs from the musical “Godspell”
11. Close of woman in crowd
12. Wide of crowd
13. Pope singing along
14. Wide of stage with motto of Pope's trip reading: “Lift your gaze”
15. Woman in crowd
16. Tilt down of man praying to his bare feet as he kneels on ground during final prayer
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of thousands of young people turned out for a rocking, dancing, prayer-filled event with Pope Leo at the end of his first day in Spain on Saturday.

The American pontiff travelled to Spain dozens of times as a priest, but this is the first visit here by a pope in 15 years.

Spaniards turned out in droves to welcome Leo, with an estimated 500,000 people — many of them young — cheering “this is the youth of the pope” at a raucous evening prayer vigil in Plaza de Lima in Madrid, where Leo was treated to a rock star's welcome.

Leo's visit signalled a return of papal attention to Europe’s Christian roots after Pope Francis largely stayed away from the traditional centres of Christianity in favour of smaller Catholic communities farther away.

Church leaders and some experts saw the success of youth movements and the surge in adult baptisms as signs that some young people were showing new interest in the church, while also challenging it to embrace a more inclusive message.

AP Video by Silvia Stellacci and production by Trisha Thomas

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