Pope visits Madrid welfare center, meets homeless and highlights against prejudice

Pope Leo XIV visited a welfare center run by the Caritas charity in a deprived area of Madrid on Saturday.

Leo XIV greeted men who whilst homeless slept at the Cedia 24 center in the Lucero district of the Spanish capital.

He spoke to workers and users at the center's canteen.

Khadry, whose last name was not released by the organizers of the event, explained to the Pope how he found respect from people at the centre. He arrived undocumented in Spain in 2020 from Senegal.

He later gave Pope Leo a copy of his Spanish Identity Card as a symbol of his journey and integration.

Caritas, a charity organization funded by the Catholic Church, said that the center helped 2,562 people in 2025.

In his address to the center, Pope Leo spoke out against prejudice due to political or economic positions that lead to unfair generalizations and misleading conclusions.

Leo visited Spain dozens of times before as a priest, but this visit was the first by a pope in 15 years.