Pope Leo XIV has today unexpectedly received the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, as it was not scheduled in the day’s agenda. Albares was scheduled this Monday at the Vatican with his counterpart at the Holy See, Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States. The Pontiff had nine audiences planned, but he finally made time for Albares, who immediately accepted the invitation, and they spoke for 20 minutes.
This is an uncommon gesture in the rigid Vatican protocol and comes on the eve of Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Spain, from June 6 to 12. “I receive it as a strong gesture of recognition and friendship and affection towards Spain,” Albares said later in a meeting with the media in St. Peter’s Square. “I am very aware of what this audience represents and that in such a busy schedule as the Holy Father has today, he made such a long space to receive me.”
The Pope’s trip to Spain, whose program is not yet known but is expected to be made public this week, was the main topic of conversation, confirmed the minister, who took the opportunity to hand the Pope the invitation from the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in person.
“I will not go into many details, obviously, of our conversation. We recalled some of the strong, important moments he will have during that visit. Specifically, because it is already public, the moment he will have at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. He is a person who knows Spain well. The conversation took place in Spanish, a language he obviously masters perfectly. We talked about his Spanish origins, Galician, very specifically on his mother’s side. He also lived, and was telling me about it, in 1982, a few months in Spain. It is a country he knows well,” the minister commented.
Albares emphasized the “enormous harmony” between the Holy See and the Spanish Government in their vision of international politics: “There is great agreement in the Vatican’s positions regarding Spain’s humanist foreign policy at this time.” But also, he stressed, on the internal level: Albares said that Gallagher asked him about the regularization of immigrants and “he conveyed that he saw it as a positive gesture, and we then talked about the broader migratory phenomenon.” He clarified that he did not discuss this topic with the Pope.
Read more The CNI distances itself from Kitchen and calls it «illegal»
The head of Spanish diplomacy detailed the points of convergence between the Government and the Vatican, at a time when the Pope has directly confronted Donald Trump and opposes the war in Iran, just like Pedro Sánchez. It is a card that the Spanish president can play domestically, emphasizing that the Executive is actually defending the Christian message, including immigration policy. In fact, one of the three stops on Leo XIV’s trip to Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona, will be the Canary Islands, a visit already proposed by his predecessor, Francis, following the migratory emergency.
“I have welcomed the Pope’s trip to Africa, the defense of the dignity of every human being, including migrants, and respect for their human rights. That stance in favor of international law that protects all nations equally, including small and medium ones, as Monsignor Gallagher spoke about,” Albares said. “Likewise, his rejection of war as a way to resolve conflicts between States, prioritizing diplomacy, dialogue, and words to resolve any conflict that may arise at the State level, and also that defense of multilateralism to face global problems, whatever they may be: the environment, the fight against climate change, underdevelopment, the management of migratory flows. Therefore, enormous harmony at this time between the Vatican’s positions, very clearly in the Middle East, in Palestine, the rejection of war, also in Ukraine, in the defense of international law and multilateralism, and in the major global challenges regarding Spain’s humanist foreign policy,” detailed the Spanish Foreign Minister.
Regarding other issues, Albares did not want to comment on reports about a report presented to the United States House Appropriations Committee, still pending approval, which questions whether Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish and supports an alleged mediation by Secretary of State Marco Rubio between Spain and Morocco on this matter. These are statements introduced by a Republican congressman, Mario Díaz-Balart. “The Spanishness of Ceuta and Melilla, just like that of Valladolid and Santiago de Compostela, is beyond any doubt. Allow me, today I am here at the Vatican. I have come mainly to talk about His Holiness’s visit to Spain and nothing else,” concluded the minister, who then turned around and left without accepting further questions.
