Pope Leo XIV began his official agenda in Catalonia on 10 June 2026 with a visit to the women’s module of Brians I prison in Sant Esteve Sesrovires, in Baix Llobregat. He is due to meet two inmates before travelling on to Montserrat Abbey.
Later in the day, he is scheduled to return to Barcelona to meet social organisations and diocesan projects at Sant Agustí church in El Raval. He will then travel by Popemobile through the Eixample to the Sagrada Familia basilica, where he will celebrate a solemn mass and bless the Tower of Jesus Christ, the temple’s tallest tower.
At Brians I, the Pope arrived at around 10.45am and met about 80 inmates from three prisons. The group included 13 women and 26 men from Brians I, 32 men from Brians II, and nine women from the Wad-Ras Women’s Penitentiary Centre in Barcelona. During the 20-minute visit, he told them: “In our life, the past does not condemn the future.” He also said that even when anguish and sadness mark parts of a person’s path, mistakes do not determine identity.
The prison visit also included a song performed by inmates, remarks from centre director Jordi Pons, and conversations with two inmates, Montserrat and Josefina. The ceremony ended with the Virolai and a blessing from Pope Leo XIV. Inmates also gave him gifts made in prison workshops. Before going to Brians I, he greeted about 500 people from the balcony of the Episcopal Palace in Barcelona, where he is staying during the visit. He said “bon dia” in Catalan and, in Spanish, noted that even if rain was possible, “the sun of faith” exists.
There has also been criticism of the visit. Miguel Hurtado, the first person to report sexual abuse at Montserrat Abbey, called the Pope’s stop there an “absolute absurdity” in comments to ACN. Hurtado, who speaks for the Reparació Integral Ja association, said he was disappointed that the Pope would visit “the scene of the crime without speaking to the victims of the crime and repairing the damage caused”. He also described Montserrat as the “ground zero of Catalan clerical paedophilia”.
Hurtado said he will launch a signature campaign at the abbey to raise awareness of the case and demand reparations for victims. He also proposed a permanent monument at the monastery in memory of victims. Separately, around 100 people gathered on Passeig del Born in Barcelona to protest the public cost of the Pope’s visit, including the free use of spaces such as the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, which is usually rented out.
Montserrat is under a major security operation, with access controls and traffic restrictions in place. The only way to reach the mountain is by rack railway, which has been full of pilgrims since early morning. About 8,000 accredited people are expected to attend the day’s events, with the central act being the Holy Rosary led by the Pope. The Escolania de Montserrat is due to sing Salve Regina and El Virolai, before the veneration of the Virgin of Montserrat, La Moreneta, and a private lunch with the Benedictine community. For more Catalonia news, see our news tag.
Barcelona is also facing major disruption. Parking is banned in El Raval from yesterday until midnight tonight, and traffic cuts are in place on Carrer de l’Hospital, Plaça de Gardunya, Carrer de Jerusalem, Plaça de Sant Agustí and Carrer de l’Arc de Sant Agustí. Around Sagrada Familia, police have closed or restricted streets including parts of Avinguda Diagonal, Rosselló, Pau Claris, Roger de Llúria, Bruc, Girona, Bailèn, Passeig de Sant Joan, Roger de Flor, Nàpols, Sicília, Sardenya, Marina, Lepant, Provença, Mallorca and València. Public transport in these areas is also affected. The Medical Emergency System (SEM) attended 22 people at events linked to the Pope’s visit yesterday.
