According to local authorities, more than 1.2 million worshippers attended the Mass celebrated by the Pope today, Sunday 7 June, in Plaza de Cibeles. The Corpus Christi celebration turned central Madrid into a major event of faith and public participation.

In his remarks, the Pope made a strong appeal against “selfishness” and “indifference,” urging people to “build a new world” by living their faith in everyday actions.

“This is not an outward display or a folkloric survival,” the Pope said, “but faith in the presence of the Risen Lord, alive among us, who becomes bread for our hunger for life.” He emphasized that the Eucharistic celebration should not be treated as a nostalgic memory, but as a current call to conversion and to change the way we look at the world.

During the homily the Pope reiterated that “no one can kneel before the Lord and despise a brother,” calling on the faithful for consistency between belief and daily conduct. “Religiosity should not be a museum of the past,” he added, “but a school of faith from which to draw even today.”

He also invited the faithful to “let themselves be carried out of selfishness and indifference” and to become active participants in building the common good. “Let us open ourselves to encounter the Lord,” he said, “and allow him to quench the dryness of our hearts so that we may bring love, peace, justice and joy to others.”

The celebration ended with an appeal to live the Eucharist as a source that “does not close us into private devotion, but sends us to serve our brothers and sisters, the poor and those who have lost hope.”