It was supposed to be the major secularist protest against the Pope in Spain. But as Spanish public television wryly noted: “There were more media representatives than protesters.”

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It was supposed to be the great secularist response.

On Tuesday evening, as the Pontiff arrived in Barcelona for the second part of his apostolic journey, counter-demonstrators gathered in the Born district under the slogan “Yo no te espero” (“I am not waiting for you”).

They had been announcing it for quite some time.

For the occasion, they had brought together a colorful coalition made up of secularist organizations, Masonic groups, trade unions, and sectors of Catalan separatism and Spanish communists. We previously discussed it, highlighting their grievances.

 

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Atheists, Communists and Freemasons: The Colorful Spanish Front Against Leo
(05/26/2026)

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Spanish TV: “More Journalists Than Demonstrators”

In short, it was supposed to be the secular challenge to the Catholic event, but things did not go quite as planned.

Only a few dozen people showed up in the square, many with gray hair and carrying a handful of signs promoting secularism while denouncing pedophilia and the costs of the visit (which were paid for by the Church, not by the State).

The largest group present turned out to be the journalists.

This was reported by RTVE, Spain’s national public broadcasting service—essentially the Spanish equivalent of the BBC.

To quote directly: “The protest was marked by a significant media presence, far outnumbering the demonstrators themselves. Barely half a dozen officers from the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) and the Urban Guard (Barcelona’s municipal police) monitored the area without having to intervene.”

 

 

Problems With the Sound System

As if that were not enough, the demonstrators also encountered some difficulties that made the atmosphere even more awkward.

The sound system decided to malfunction at precisely that moment, forcing the organizers to rely on a simple megaphone.

Meanwhile, Leo XIV was taking part in the vigil at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium together with approximately 40,000 people.

Certainly more numerous than the protesters were the young nuns of the “Iesu Communio” congregation, who the day before had filled the streets of Madrid with joy as they made their way to meet the Pope:

 

Mission Not Accomplished

In short, the much-publicized secular mobilization against Leo XIV ended in obscurity, with an emergency megaphone and a media presence that actually outnumbered the protesters.

If the goal was to demonstrate that Spain was not waiting for the Pope, the result was, to say the least, disappointing.