Eduardo González
Pope Leo XIV unexpectedly received Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Monday, with whom he discussed, among other matters, his upcoming visit to Spain, the rejection of war, and support for international law and multilateralism.
The papal audience took place just three days before the Pope, an American citizen, is scheduled to receive US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the second time at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, according to Vatican News.
The minister was received in audience as a surprise, since it was not on either his personal or the Vatican’s agenda. Albares is in Rome on Monday to participate in the inauguration of the Chancery of the Spanish Embassy in Italy and to meet with the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
“Upon arrival, I was informed that the Pope would grant me an audience, and of course, I immediately accepted,” the Foreign Minister told reporters. “I receive it as what I understand it to be,” he continued: “a sign of recognition, affection, sympathy, and friendship toward Spain.” “I am very aware of what this audience represents and that, in such a busy schedule as the Holy Father’s, he has made such ample time today to receive me,” he added.
According to Albares, during the meeting, which lasted “about twenty minutes,” they discussed “his upcoming visit to Spain,” and he was able to “personally deliver the invitation from the Prime Minister,” Pedro Sánchez. Pope Leo XIV will make an apostolic journey to Spain from June 6 to 12, 2026. “He is someone who knows Spain well,” he affirmed.
During the conversation, which “took place in Spanish, a language he speaks perfectly” due to “his Spanish, specifically Galician, heritage on his mother’s side,” and the months he lived in Spain in 1982, Albares and the Pope demonstrated “a great deal of agreement regarding the world situation and the solutions to its current challenges.”
Among the points of “enormous agreement” between the two parties, the minister highlighted “the rejection of war as a means of resolving disputes between states,” “support for international law and multilateralism” in “the fight against climate change, underdevelopment, and the management of migration flows,” the situation in the Middle East, and “major global challenges.”
Albares also stated that his counterpart, Paul Richard Gallagher, conveyed his support for the Spanish government’s immigration regularization program, which he viewed “as a positive step.” “There is a great deal of agreement in the Vatican’s positions regarding Spain’s humanist foreign policy at this time,” he insisted.
