Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni Cuadrado has issued a decree calling on residents to welcome Pope Leo XIV to the city in June 2026. The visit coincides with the completion of the Sagrada Família's Jesus Tower and the commemoration of Gaudí Year.
Collboni described the completion of the Jesus Tower as “the culmination of a dream” for Antoni Gaudí and generations of Barcelona residents. He said the Sagrada Família helps explain the city’s identity through “collective ambition, perseverance, and the capacity to imagine and dream big.”
This year, Barcelona is marking Gaudí Year and its designation as World Capital of Architecture. The city says it is committed to preserving and promoting the legacy of the “universal genius”.
The mayor said the Pope’s visit is an event of local and international importance, and an opportunity to project Barcelona’s values, including respect, pluralism, democracy, equality, solidarity, and a commitment to peace and human rights.
Collboni said Barcelona stands for dialogue and coexistence over hatred and division. He also referred to a period of uncertainty, conflict, polarisation, the spread of authoritarianism, and the “shameless hoarding of power by the technoligarchy”.
The decree also called for spaces of dialogue, respect, and understanding, and for technology that serves humanity. It referenced Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical, Humanitat magnífica, which promotes technological humanism. For more on the city’s official announcements, see the news page.
Collboni urged residents to receive Pope Leo XIV and other visitors with Barcelona’s usual hospitality, and to make the city the “best host” during the visit. He said these days should be lived with civility, respect, and harmony.
