The captain made the announcement on the Iberia flight taking Pope Leo XIV back to Rome from Tenerife. A technical problem was discovered and the plane was unable to take off. A short time later, the pope and some of his entourage left the plane.
I was on an Iberia flight returning to Rome, one of about 80 journalists accompanying the Pope on his June 6-12 visit to Spain. When Pope Francis travels, he takes regular planes, flying on ITA planes on the way out, and the return flight is often provided by the host country.
Journalists traveling with the pope will sit in the back of the plane, while the pope, cardinals, bishops and Vatican officials will sit in the front. We pay business class fare for economy class seats, but in exchange we get to see the Pope holding a press conference with reporters on the way back. The food is even more delicious on the Pope’s flight, with a special menu featuring the Pope’s coat of arms printed on the headrest.
There have been technical problems with papal planes in the past, but it is unprecedented for a plane carrying a pope to be unable to take off. Visiting the Pope is considered an honor for local airlines, and flights usually go seamlessly, whether it’s East Timor’s Aereo Dili or the UAE’s Emirates. So when the Iberia captain made the announcement, there was confusion among the traveling press corps.
Eventually we were asked to disembark and news broke that the Pope had been offered the King of Spain’s private plane to take us back to Rome. I watched as Pope Leo walked across the tarmac to board his plane, while we reporters waited and waited for another plane to take us to Rome.
This marked a chaotic end to Pope Leo’s historic visit to Spain. The first American pope, who speaks fluent Spanish, drew a large crowd of about 1.2 million people to Madrid for the mass and procession. He became the first pope to address Spain’s parliament, receiving a seven-minute standing ovation from representatives from the country’s sharply polarized political spectrum.
The crowd was a surprise, and Pope told CNN on the plane that he knew he would be competing with Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who was performing in Madrid the night Leo arrived. After speculation that Bad Bunny was somehow connected to the papal event, the Vatican confirmed that the two met briefly behind closed doors, although no photos were released.
But the biggest moment of the trip came at Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia cathedral. One hundred years after the death of Antoni Gaudi, the visionary architect behind the building, the Pope celebrated Mass in the cathedral and blessed the Tower of Jesus Christ, now the world’s tallest church. A choir from Europe’s oldest choir sang as a light show and fireworks bathed the cathedral in color. The drone’s lights then illuminated Gaudí’s face against the night sky.
Alongside the big event, the pope set aside a modest moment. He met with migrants at the Las Raices camp in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, and highlighted the plight of those who risk their lives in wooden boats to cross the sea from West Africa to Europe. The pope then condemned those who told trafficked migrants to “stop” and “repent,” adding that they would face “divine justice.” The Pope used the final hours of his visit to Spain to visit the Canary Islands, a major entry point for new arrivals to Europe, and highlight the plight of migrants, a key priority of his papacy. The Pope also met privately with victims of abuse and called on Spain’s bishops to listen to their voices and provide reparations.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the visit was that the Pope seemed the most relaxed and happy he has been since becoming pontiff. He encouraged young people to think about getting married and starting a family, talked about his time playing soccer and American football in his youth, and was candid, unusual for Leo. He noted that he still plays tennis and works out.
Leo seemed to be having a lot of fun. On one occasion, during a trip from Madrid to Barcelona, he climbed into the cockpit of a plane, spoke to the pilot over the in-flight radio and waved to the military planes escorting him. Several times he delighted the crowd from his Popemobile by making the “six-seven” hand gesture that he likes to do often.
The Pope’s flight on the King’s plane means that reporters will not be able to ask questions at the end of the in-flight press conference, giving him a rare opportunity to engage in a sustained question-and-answer session with journalists.
The past two papal visits have featured unplanned dramatic moments. From President Donald Trump’s unusual broadside to the pope on the eve of his trip to Africa in April to the unprecedented grounding of the papal plane, Leo’s Curia has thrown up many surprises.
