Madrid shelter prepares for Papal visit

Away from the bustling city centre of Madrid, a homeless shelter in the quieter Lucero district is busy making preparations for a special visitor this weekend. Pope Leo XIV is set to visit Cedia 24 Horas, run by the Spanish Catholic Charity Cáritas Madrid, during his visit to the country which begins on Saturday.

Open 24 hours a day, the centre offers a place to sleep for those in need, as well as social guidance, psychological support and basic services. Among its many residents are recently arrived immigrants like Constantina Nchama from Equatorial Guinea who ended up in the street after she was thrown out of the apartment she rented because her residency application was rejected.

The 33-year-old mother of two who was taken in by Cáritas has since studied to become a flight attendant and is hoping to get her paperwork in order as part of Spain's "extraordinary regularization" program for foreigners living in the country without permission.

"For those of us who are immigrants and find ourselves in this situation of having family far away, someone like the Pope, who is an important figure for the entire world, coming here is truly something that makes me say wow," Nchama said. "It's something that happens once in a lifetime."

Peruvian Elmer León also ended up on the streets and has needed several surgeries in recent years due to health issues. He said his faith gave him strength to overcome life's challenges and welcomes the pontiff's visit with open arms.

"Pope Leo XIV. Welcome to the Hall of Peace, where we await you. A hug," he said as he held a poster of Leo outside the center. The Pope's visit will "help to raise awareness of all these situations," said Caritas Madrid Secretary-General Pilar Algarate.

"It is about making visible the situation of many people who are going through difficult times." The Pope's trip will include a stop in the Canary Islands on June 11 and 12. The archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean has in recent years struggled with the arrival of tens of thousands of mostly African migrants through what is considered one of the world's deadliest migration routes.

Many Catholics and migrants hoped the upcoming papal trips will refocus attention on solidarity and support — and away from divisive political debate that is splitting the right in addition to pitting it against the left. "This would emphasize issues that are part of the Church's social doctrine and clearly mark a distance from those political positions, such as migration," said Rafael Ruiz Andres, a sociologist at Complutense University of Madrid.

In the Canaries, Leo is expected at the port of Arguineguín, on the island of Gran Canaria, on June 11 to pay homage to the thousands of migrants who died or disappeared en route. The next day, he will meet migrants at a camp on the island of Tenerife.

The archipelago has been the epicenter of a humanitarian crisis that in 2024 saw the arrival of nearly 47,000 migrants from North and West Africa, including several thousand unaccompanied minors. Thousands have died or disappeared and the few whose bodies have been found were often buried without identification.