Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Spain was stunning. I was traveling much of the week and was able to read the texts of his homilies and talks, but when I got home and went to YouTube and watched the enthusiastic welcome he received, it was remarkable. The history of Catholicism in Spain is profound and complex, with many shadows, especially in the 20th century. All was swept away. It seemed like all of Spain turned out to welcome the Holy Father and he was pitch perfect in his messages.
The question for us is: What did we learn about Pope Leo last week? What didn’t we know, or thought was likely, and is now confirmed?
First, he is not dismissive toward traditional, popular piety but respects it. This was evident at Mass on the feast of Corpus Christi, where Leo drew 1.2 million people to the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid June 7, and then participated in a eucharistic procession.
In his homily at Mass, he recognized the faith at the heart of this popular devotion.
“Even today, they [eucharistic processions] still express and manifest the spiritual sentiments of this country through the beauty and elegance of the floral carpets, the altars erected in the streets, the carefully crafted monstrances and stands, the hymns and the liturgical vestments,” the pope said. “This is not an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty. It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us, who becomes bread to satiate our hunger for life, and visits the recesses of our hearts and history, even those shrouded in darkness.”
As we encounter younger Catholics who are drawn to devotions like a eucharistic procession, who like the monstrances and the fancy vestments, let’s not pooh-pooh it but, instead, like Leo acknowledge it as a profession of faith, not as a show. And, like the pope, let’s encourage all to link their piety to the church’s mission: “The Christ who processes through the streets in the monstrance is the same one who identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone and forsaken.”
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With thanks to National Catholic Reporter and Michael Sean Winters, where this article originally appeared.
