MADRID - Pope Leo XIV touched down in Spain for a seven-day apostolic journey through Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, telling reporters aboard the papal plane that he intended to meet “all facets of society: Catholics, young people, migrants, the poor and regular citizens.”

“The Church has a message for everyone,” the pope said in Spanish before landing, his fourth foreign trip since assuming the papacy. He offered special greetings to Spanish journalists and those from other nations. “Thank you very much for your service.”

The visit coincides with a packed entertainment calendar in the capital. Real Madrid is facing La Laguna Tenerife in Game 3 of their quarterfinal series, and Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who performed at the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, is playing six concert dates beginning the evening of the pope’s arrival. Pope Leo acknowledged the competition for young audiences with characteristic directness: “If they are confronted with the question: do they want to see Bad Bunny or do they want to see the pope, I think many will see Bad Bunny. But I think there will also be a few there to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”

Asked about reports of rising numbers of young people joining the Catholic Church, the pope said he was “very pleased by the reports.” A recent blog from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found that about half of Gen-Z raised Catholic retain that identity into adulthood. Young people “looking for something more,” he said, often have grown up without a “spiritual dimension in their lives. They realize there’s an emptiness and a lack of a sense of meaning, and perhaps my visiting is helping to awaken” something they may not yet be able to define.

Pope Leo, who visited Spain many times during his 12 years as prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, said he was looking forward to visiting the predominantly Catholic though increasingly secularized country as pope: “to meet the faithful, celebrate the faith, proclaim the message of Jesus Christ.” He will become the first pope to address the Spanish parliament in Madrid and will meet privately with survivors of sexual abuse by clergy. Cases of abuse, he told one reporter, “are still an open wound,” adding that it was “unfortunately impossible to meet everyone that wanted” a papal audience. He said he always “fought against” known cases of abuse wherever he was serving and would continue to do so as pope.

A highlight of the June 6-12 trip will be his blessing of the recently completed central tower of the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, now the tallest church in the world at nearly 535 feet. The event also commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí. The pope referenced his encyclical letter published May 25 on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence as evidence that the Church speaks to all of society.

Aboard the plane, Pope Leo greeted each of the 80 journalists individually, taking selfies and accepting gifts, including a small wooden cross made from the wreckage of boats that had carried migrants to the Italian island of Lampedusa, where he will visit July 4. A French reporter reminded him that the date marked the anniversary of D-Day. Asked whether he would visit Normandy to bring a message of peace, the pope said, “Yes, my father was there,” serving in the Navy and taking part in the landings. Pressed on whether he would support the United States soccer team during the FIFA World Cup this summer, he replied, “I will certainly support the U.S., though I am not sure how many games I will be able to see.” And when asked to choose between Real Madrid and Barcelona, he answered: “That’s easy…the pope is for all teams, but Prevost is Real Madrid!”

The pope’s next scheduled public event is a prayer vigil with youth in Madrid, followed by a meeting with representatives of the world of culture, art and sport. His Lampedusa visit is set for July 4.