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Over 1.2 Million People Attend Pope's Mass in Madrid

27 May 2026, Vatican, Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV leads the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Photo: Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
27 May 2026, Vatican, Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV leads the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Photo: Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Over 1.2 Million People Attend Pope's Mass in Madrid

27 May 2026, Vatican, Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV leads the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Photo: Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
27 May 2026, Vatican, Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV leads the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Photo: Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

More than 1.2 million people filled the streets of Madrid on Sunday for a mass by Pope Leo XIV at which he called for a renewal of the Catholic faith in Spain.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia joined throngs of devotees waving Spanish and Vatican flags in Cibeles Square for a service filled with religious symbolism.

In his homily, Pope Leo said Spaniards should not look at religion as "a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today".

The mass comes on day two of Pope Leo's seven-day visit to Spain, a traditional Catholic bastion where religious observance has been declining sharply in recent years as in much of western Europe.

A huge logistical and security operation was in place for the event, after which the pope led a traditional procession along a route lined with white and yellow carnations -- the Vatican flag colors, AFP said.

Organizers said there were more than 1.2 million people attending in the square and the surrounding area.

Nico Aldeanueva, 28, who was visiting from Philadelphia in the United States, said the pope was "a very unifying force in a moment where we have division across so many different fronts".

"We have, it seems like, never-ending conflict and for the time being here you get to hit pause and get to enjoy the moment and feel the faith."

Ana Milagros, 64, who was waving a Vatican flag, said she thought the US-born pope seemed "approachable" and "very sincere".

"There is a lot of polarization and differences in politics, in social matters, in the economy," she said, adding: "The pope is trying with this visit... to help all of us."

- Focus on migration -

Later on Sunday, Leo will meet the leading lights of culture, sport and the economy at an arena, with the aim of fostering dialogue between faith and modern civil society.

Around 56 percent of Spaniards identify as Catholic compared to 90 percent in the 1970s, according to a survey last month by the Center for Sociological Research, an autonomous government body.

On Saturday, 500,000 mostly young attendees congregated with Leo outside Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium for a prayer vigil that stretched into the night.

Leo kicked off his visit with pomp and ceremony at a reception in Madrid's royal palace, where he called for an end to "polarizing narratives" and "sterile simplifications".

The pope also praised Spain, whose left-wing government has sparred with his native United States as well as Israel over wars in the Middle East, for its "active commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples".

Leo is due to visit Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he will notably bless the Sagrada Familia basilica's recently completed tower, which made it the world's tallest church.

His trip will end with a focus on migration on Thursday and Friday in the Canary Islands, a key destination for irregular arrivals, with thousands dying in the Atlantic Ocean trying to reach them.

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World

Iran Rejects Trump Claims of US Control over Hormuz as 'Lies'

An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran Rejects Trump Claims of US Control over Hormuz as 'Lies'

An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's military on Thursday rejected as "lies" remarks by US President Donald Trump claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway was fully under Iranian control.

"The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally ... are nothing more than lies and fabrications," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran's central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya.

"The Strait of Hormuz is, as in the past, under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces has had and will have the possibility of safe passage through this strait," he said in a video carried by state television.

Iran has kept control of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the US "has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!"

"Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he added.

On Thursday, the head of Iran's Basij forces under the Revolutionary Guards also said that the strait was under Iranian control.

"Today, you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security," said Hossein Taeb according to state television.

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said the US makes miscalculations in regard to the waterway.

"The US has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz," he said on X.

Iranian parliamentarian and member of the national security commission Behnam Saeedi said the strait is closed to US and Israeli ships.

"Ships belonging to the Zionist regime will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under any circumstances, whether in war or peacetime," he told state TV, adding that "US military ships will also be barred from passing through the Strait".

Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, but negotiations have not yet been finalized.

Tehran, however, says even if the talks produce a new route, that would not on its own open the waterway unless the US meets Iran's demands.

World

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Will Leave at the Month’s End

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Will Leave at the Month’s End

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave the administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her family, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.

Leavitt, 28, is the youngest person to hold the role. She was a press aide during Trump's first term and has been one of the most visible advocates of his “Make America Great Again” movement. Trump did not outline any plans for who might replace her, The Associated Press said.

Meanwhile, Trump said he slipped away from Air Force One after a trip last month in Türkiye because the Secret Service and military wanted him on a “different plane” due to a threat he insisted did not scare him.

He downplayed the extraordinary nature of the subterfuge involved in his flight, which saw him stow away in an airport catering container to sneak onto another plane while Air Force One was sent into the sky, essentially as a decoy.

World

Colombia Enters ‘Final Phase’ of Quake Search as Toll Hits 265

This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)
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Colombia Enters ‘Final Phase’ of Quake Search as Toll Hits 265

This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)

Rescuers in Colombia were making last-ditch efforts to locate earthquake survivors early Thursday, as the critical 72-hour window for rescue operations neared its end.

The magnitude 7.4 quake, the strongest to hit Colombia this century, has killed 265 people, injured more than 3,500 and left almost 500 missing, according to local authorities.

In cities such as Cali and Pereira, emergency crews worked through a third night with their bare hands, cranes and sniffer dogs, stopping not to rest but to listen for signs of life.

Thursday morning will mark 72 hours since the quake, a period when survivors are considered most likely to be found alive beneath collapsed buildings.

Cali resident Martha Perez said she felt "helpless" as two relatives were thought to still be trapped under rubble.

"We will hold on to (hope) until the very end," Perez told AFP on Wednesday night.

"As you can see, all of us here -- the entire city of Cali -- are hoping to find more survivors," volunteer rescuer Fernando Loaiza said.

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said Wednesday that rescue efforts were "entering the final phase."

Colombia's newly installed president Abelardo de la Espriella has declared the disaster an "economic emergency" and announced three days of national mourning.

"We will do what is necessary," he said in a statement, vowing to "emerge again as a country and as a society."

More than 11,000 dwellings have been destroyed and thousands of families have been rendered homeless, according to official figures.

- Holding onto 'hope' -

In Pereira, crews focused on a collapsed bakery where they believe a street vendor trapped since Monday's earthquake may still be alive beneath the rubble.

Rescuers using equipment that detects vibrations said they had picked up possible signs of life from Pablo Loaiza, prompting anxious relatives to gather near the wreckage.

"They tell us it could be him," said his 16-year-old niece, Sara Loaiza. "My heart is about to burst out of my chest."

Relatives said the trapped man appeared to respond when rescuers asked him to knock twice, then three times from beneath the rubble, drawing applause from those gathered at the scene.

"Every half hour we make everyone be quiet to see if we can find people alive," volunteer rescuer Johana Sanchez told AFP.

"So far, three people have been pulled out alive and three dead."

Many have already spent consecutive nights outdoors, either because their homes were damaged or because they feared aftershocks.

In the town of Roldanillo, Yuliana Mendez picked through the wreckage of the beauty products store where she worked, one of many businesses damaged in the disaster.

"It's like starting over from scratch," she said.

In Pereira's Providencia neighborhood, residents hauled furniture and household items from damaged buildings. Among them was lawyer Ana Paulina Crosthwaite, whose apartment block was left unsafe by the quake.

"We're in a state of shock," she told AFP. "We're not prepared to tell our children that we have to pack whatever we can and start a new life."

Many Colombians have mobilized to help, bringing water, food and supplies to affected neighborhoods, while long lines formed outside blood donation centers.

"It's about wanting to help your community, your city and your country," said blood donor Ferney Cabrera.

The United States announced $15.5 million in emergency aid to Colombia, and the European Union pledged two million euros ($2.3 million).