From May 26 to June 13, Fr. Cristóbal Fones, SJ, International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, made a pastoral visit to Spain with the purpose of accompanying the mission of the Prayer Network and the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM), strengthening ties with local communities, and participating in various ecclesial initiatives within the context of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Spain.
The visit began in Madrid, where the International Director participated in different activities organized for the preparation and accompaniment of the Holy Father’s visit. Within this framework, he had the opportunity to engage with digital missionaries and other pastoral agents, encouraging them to promote prayer for the Pope’s intentions and to generate content that helps people look at reality through the eyes of Jesus.
During his stay in Spain, Fr. Fones also visited the cities of Barcelona, San Sebastián, Granada, and Santiago de Compostela, where he presented the mission of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and promoted new spaces for collaboration at the service of this pontifical work, both locally and internationally.
The agenda also included meetings with the National Director of the Prayer Network in Spain, David Fornieles, and with the National Coordinator of the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM), Javier Chimeno, with whom he shared the reality of the mission in the country and discussed the challenges and opportunities to continue strengthening the service of the Network and the EYM.
One of the most significant moments of the journey was the celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Santiago de Compostela and later at the Shrine of Cerro de los Ángeles, in the Diocese of Getafe—a place that hosts the historic Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, one of the main shrines dedicated to the Heart of Jesus in Spain and a symbol of the country’s consecration to the Sacred Heart.
Throughout these weeks, the visit helped to further consolidate the presence of the Pope’s Prayer Network in Spain, strengthen collaboration with national teams, and open new opportunities to make this mission, entrusted by the Holy Father to the Society of Jesus, widely known.
