Spanish Cardinal José Cobo confirmed Jan. 9 in Rome that Madrid, Barcelona, ??and the Canary Islands are likely destinations in 2026 for an apostolic journey to Spain by Pope Leo XIV.
After concluding a meeting with the substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Cobo confirmed the pontiff’s interest in visiting Spain: “Yes, I believe the pope is interested [in making the trip]. Madrid, Barcelona, ??and the Canary Islands are the first locations that have been considered.”
The meeting was also attended by the archbishop of Barcelona, ??Cardinal Juan José Omella; the archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) Archbishop Luis Argüello; the auxiliary bishop of Toledo and secretary general of the CEE, Bishop Francisco César García Magán; and the bishop of the Canary Islands, Bishop José Mazuelos.
The cardinal emphasized that this trip is an initiative of Leo XIV: “He asked us for a first draft, like the initial outline of this,” which he will “fine tune or make corrections in the future.”