King Philip VI and Queen Letizia already meet the Pope on march 2013.
The Diplomat. Madrid/Vatican City.
King Philip VI will launch his international agenda with an official trip, on 30 June, to meet with Pope Francis, as was advanced by The Diplomat. The decision to make his first trip outside Spain to the Holy See was a decision of the Monarch himself, according to sources from the Zarzuela Palace.
Philip VI and Letizia represented Spain at the mass that marked the beginning of Jorge Bergoglio’s papacy in May 2013 and the Vatican was also the first destination of the now King and Queen after they married, in May 2004, when they were received by John Paul II.
Sources from the Royal Household consulted by The Diplomat, maintain that the visit will be more political than religious in character and they underscore the good relationship between the new Monarchs and the Pope. The Pope could be a reference figure for the new King. He too saw himself catapulted onto the front line after an abdication and in little over a year Francis has turned around an institution, the Church, accosted by scandals and discredited in the eyes of a large section of public opinion.
It is expected that during their audience Philip and Letizia reiterate to the Pope their invitation for him to visit Spain next year, due to the fifth centenary of the birth of Saint Teresa of Ávila. Although no date has been set, nor has there been official confirmation, the Pope’s trip to Spain is seen as a given in the Vatican. Sources there maintain that it will probably be a short visit, most likely a weekend.
When questioned about his possible trip to Spain during the flight that took him to the Holy Land last month, Francis responded with “Ah, Santa Teresa”, showing his great devotion for the Saint.
A week before meeting with Philip VI, Francis will meet with the leadership of the Spanish episcopacy
The pope knows Spain well, as he completed his education as a Jesuit at Alcalá de Henares. He also has close Spanish Friends which visit him privately in the Vatican, to keep him up to date with the religious, social and political situation.
One week before his audience with the Spanish Monarchs, Francis will meet with the leadership of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (SEC) in Rome. The president and vice president, archbishops Ricardo Blázquez and Carlos Osoro, will relate to the Pope how the succession from Juan Carlos I to Philip the VI went as well as the popular reactions it has provoked.
This meeting, which will also be attended by the Secretary General and spokesperson for the SEC, José María Gil Tamayo, was organized before it was known that the Spanish Monarchs were to travel to Rome. The meeting between the Pope, Blázquez, Osoro and Gil Tamayo is a routine one, carried out when the leadership of any episcopacy is changed, as happened in Spain last March.
After its launch at the Vatican, the King’s international tour will continue through neighbouring countries. On 7 July he will travel to Portugal, on 14 July to Morocco, and towards the end of August to France. The Monarchs have also received an invitation from King Philip, of Belgium to attend on 4 August, in Lièje the acts commemorating the centenary of the First World War.
