Pope Leo XIV to visit the Canary Islands in 2026
Pope Leo XIV will fulfil the long-held wish of his predecessor by visiting the Canary Islands during his first official trip to Spain. The visit is expected in the first half of the year and will make history as the first time a reigning pope has travelled to the Archipelago. It will also be the first time in 15 years that a Pope has been to Spain.
The late Pope Francis I, who died last April, repeatedly expressed a deep personal affinity with the Islands and a strong desire to see first-hand the migration situation facing the region. On several occasions, he spoke of a “special closeness” to the Canarian people and their role at the forefront of Europe’s humanitarian challenges.
Migration was a constant concern throughout Francis I’s papacy. He frequently highlighted the steady arrival of people to the Canary Islands in small boats, a situation that continues to place a lot of pressure on local resources. In November 2023, he sent a pastoral letter to the Canarian bishops to offer his “encouragement and constant prayer” in the face of what he described as a serious humanitarian crisis.
In that same message, Francis I praised the Canarian population for its “sensitivity, spirit of welcome and ability to care for those who are suffering”. He had hoped to demonstrate that support in person by travelling to the Islands, but health problems and a demanding schedule prevented the visit from taking place.
During a meeting in 2024 at the Vatican with Fernando Clavijo (President of the Canary Islands), Francis I reiterated his wish to stand alongside the Canarian people at a time of unprecedented migratory pressure. During a later encounter with representatives of the Spanish Church, he said, “I want to be close to the Canarian people in the face of the migration crisis.”
That unfulfilled wish will now be realised by Pope Leo XIV, a close collaborator of Francis I, who is scheduled to visit the Islands in the first half of June, with a stop in Tenerife among the locations being prepared. The visit is expected to shine an international spotlight on the migration route to the Canary Islands and the humanitarian response led by local authorities, volunteers and residents.
It will also be the first papal visit to Spain since Benedict XVI travelled to Madrid in 2011, following earlier visits to Valencia, Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela between 2006 and 2010, making Pope Leo XIV’s arrival a historic moment for both the Islands and the country as a whole.
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