Pope Leo XIV met the Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny in Madrid June 8, after joking days earlier that he would be vying against the singer for Spaniards’ attention as their tours in Spain’s capital overlapped.

There has been a sharp rise in reported harassment against Christians in Israel, according to new data presented June 4 by the Religious Freedom Data Center.

To commemorate the centennial year of the death of famed architect Antoni Gaudí, who designed Spain’s Sagrada Família basilica, The Lego Group announced June 4 the release of a new model kit of the church, calling it one of the world’s “most recognizable and ambitious” buildings.

At the start of his fourth trip abroad, Pope Leo XIV humbly predicted that young Spaniards would more likely attend shows scheduled on the same days as his visit starring a fellow-American, Bad Bunny, who has the most audio streams in the world.

While flashy events are planned in the U.S. capital for the Independence Day weekend, a prayerful commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary unfolded June 5-6 as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage came to Washington to renew and deepen faith in Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Hours after celebrating Mass for an estimated 1.5 million people and leading a Corpus Christi procession through the streets of Madrid, Pope Leo XIV found himself in a very different setting.

The U.S. Department of State announced June 5 that a $240 million grant in humanitarian and disaster response assistance, the first of a series of such grants, will be made to Catholic Relief Services, the overseas relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic Church.

In a sweeping address to the Spanish parliament, Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful defense of the dignity of every human life, declaring that its protection is not a partisan issue but “a goal of civilization,” while addressing the issues of abortion, migration, freedom of conscience, the seal of confession and the Church’s role in public life.

More than 1.2 million people filled the streets of Madrid as Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass and led a Eucharistic procession through the heart of the Spanish capital June 7 for the solemnity of Corpus Christi, the liturgical feast celebrating the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Spain June 6, invoking Saints Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross and Ignatius of Loyola as spiritual guides for the polarized country as it navigates profound social tensions.