1 million people flood Madrid streets to see the pope's flower-carpeted procession

Pope Leo XIV presides over a Mass marking the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, June 7, 2026, on the second day of his seven-day apostolic visit to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. Manu Fernandez/AP hide caption

MADRID — Pope Leo XIV honored Spain's centuries-old tradition of religious devotion on Sunday as a "school of faith" for today, as he presided over a Mass before a million people and highlighted one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety with a procession over flower-petal carpets.

The crowd cheered and shouted "This is the youth of the pope!" as Leo arrived for the Mass at a central Madrid plaza. He looped around the plaza and surrounding streets in his popemobile to a crowd packed several rows deep of people eager to witness the first papal visit in 15 years.

Sunday's Mass fell on the Catholic Corpus Domini feast day, which often features processions of faithful through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist. In Spain as in other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions often feature elaborate floral carpets arranged along the route.

According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating the half-kilometer (mile) procession route off Plaza Cibeles were prepared by a Spanish florists association from Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers, most the yellow and white colors of the Holy See flag, for the carpets that feature decorations such as the Holy See keys.

Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Catholic devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith in a once-staunchly Catholic country where religious observance has largely been on the wane.

In his homily Sunday, Leo honored Spain's tradition of the Corpus Domini processions, saying the floral carpets express the "spiritual sentiments of this country" through "altars erected in the streets."

"This is not an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty," he said. "It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us."