1m flood Madrid’s streets to watch Pope’s procession along flower-carpeted route

The Pope honoured Spain’s centuries-old tradition of religious devotion as a “school of faith” for today, as he presided over Mass before one million people and took part in a procession over flower-petal carpets.

The crowd in Madrid’s Plaza Cibeles cheered and shouted “This is the youth of the Pope” as Leo arrived for Mass on Sunday morning, looping around the square and surrounding streets in his popemobile on the first papal visit in 15 years.

The event fell on the Catholic Corpus Domini feast day, which often features processions of faithful through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist.

In Spain, as in other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions often feature elaborate floral carpets arranged along the route.

The tradition of laying flower carpets – and destroying them when the procession tramples them – dates back two centuries.

According to Spanish organisers, the 16 flower carpets decorating the half-mile procession route off Plaza Cibeles were prepared by a Spanish florists association from Galicia.

Florists used more than 30,000 flowers, most the yellow and white colours of the Holy See flag, for the carpets that feature decorations such as the Holy See keys.

The Pope, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his week-long visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Catholic devotion to encourage especially young generations to find their faith in a once-staunchly Catholic country where religious observance has largely been on the wane.

In his homily on Sunday, Leo honored Spain’s tradition of the Corpus Domini processions, saying the floral carpets express the “spiritual sentiments of this country” through “altars erected in the streets”.

He added: “This is not an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty. It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us.”

He said the continued observance of such devotional practices points to what Spain can and should be for the world.

“Herein lies the task of Spain today and in the future: to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today,” Leo said.

At the end of Mass, he carried a gilded monstrance, or container, holding a Eucharistic host and walked over the floral carpets, as children dropped additional petals before him and the crowd tossed petals from behind the barricades.

The huge turnout in Spain began the day of Leo’s arrival, when an estimated 600,000 young Spaniards attended a vigil service on Saturday night, kneeling for several minutes in silent prayer alongside him.

“Let me take the opportunity to tell all of you: Don’t ever be afraid of thinking about a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, or other services in the church,” Leo told the crowd.