The Church is Christ’s bride and body, Pope preaches in Barcelona

June 09, 2026

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Sext (Midday Prayer) in Barcelona Cathedral today and reflected on the Church as Christ’s bride and body.

Following a short flight from Madrid, the Pontiff arrived at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, where he was welcomed by Catalonian authorities (video). He was then driven to the cathedral, where he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament and celebrated Sext (video).

“The Church—and in particular this assembly, rich in gifts and charisms and in the diversity of each person’s story—is above all a beloved bride,” Pope Leo preached. “The Church is the fruit of an act of love that precedes her and comes from God. Above all, she grows by allowing herself to be loved by him, united, with a humble and grateful heart, because only those who allow themselves to be loved by God can build, together with others, the works of love.”

“If Christ is the bridegroom who loved us first, he is also the head to whom we are united as members of a single body, each at the service of the other, people from ‘every tribe and language and people and nation’ (Rev 5:9), all animated by the action of the same Spirit, all called to the same holiness,” the Pope continued. “It is the Spirit who impels us, as parts of a single living structure, not only to give ourselves unreservedly wherever Providence calls us, but to do so according to God’s designs, in obedience and trust.”

The Pontiff also recalled St. Eulalia.

“Soon we will venerate the relics of Saint Eulalia, co-patroness of this Cathedral, the Archdiocese, and the city,” he said. “We too, in a world torn apart by wars and divisions, in a society that is increasingly fragmented and individualistic, wish to be ‘martyrs’—that is, witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation.”

“Like the virgin Eulalia and so many other martyrs, we wish to say our ‘yes,’ ready if necessary to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce the superfluous in order to build upon what is essential and lasts forever” (cf. Mt 16:24–26), the Pope added.

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey to Spain: Midday Prayer (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 6/9/26)
• Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Spain (6 – 12 June 2026) – Welcome in Barcelona, Midday Prayer in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Holy See Press Office, 6/9/26)