Salvatore Cernuzio – envoy to Madrid
The Lion and the Rabbit finally met – animal names derived from the Pope’s name and the artist’s nickname. The meeting was confirmed by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
Brief conversation at the stadium
This was news that many fans and faithful had been waiting for during the Pope’s three-day visit to Madrid. These days were marked by enthusiasm and attendance at events with the Pope that exceeded all expectations. The meeting of Leo XIV with the singer Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, was the culmination of these events.
There was a brief greeting and a few words of conversation between the Holy Father and the artist before leaving the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, where an energetic meeting with the diocesan community took place on Monday. 80,000 people participated.
Several people were present during the Pope’s meeting with Bad Bunny, including members of the artist’s family, who is considered an icon and global ambassador for Puerto Rico, especially after his performance during the Super Bowl halftime show in the United States a few months ago.
Bad Bunny asked to meet the Holy Father
As those present in the room reported, the singer said he was “truly moved” by the opportunity to shake the Pope’s hand.
Bad Bunny has always declared himself a Catholic – though non-practicing – thanks to his deeply religious family. It was he himself, even before his trip to Spain, who asked for the opportunity to meet the Pope.
However, the two had already “met” before – at least virtually. For many weeks, thousands of social media users, knowing that the Debí tirar más fotos World Tour coincided with the Pope’s apostolic journey (and vice versa), constantly asked the question: “Will they finally meet?”
The Pope gathered larger crowds
The playful “rivalry” between Bad Bunny, who gathered a total of 600,000 people during twelve concerts in Madrid and Barcelona, and the Pope, who gathered over 600,000 young people during the evening vigil in Plaza de Lima with Eucharistic adoration alone, became one of the most recurring themes during the 72 hours the Holy Father spent in Madrid.
Leo XIV himself, answering a question from an EFE agency correspondent on the plane about whether young people were coming to Spain to see him or Bad Bunny, replied: “I think many will come to see Bad Bunny, but I also think there will be some who will say they are here to see the Pope. And that’s quite a lot.”
