Objective/Context:

in recent decades, religion has established itself as one of the most potent instruments to activate political aspirations. The classical paradigms of secularization failed in their predictions, and religion has neither been confined to the private sphere nor has it disappeared from public space. This article looks at how faith is made visible in a particular way and claims its seat in the public discourse.

Methodology:

the article engages with its objective starting from the analysis of primary sources-ecclesiastic documents, press reports, and references from Spanish Public Administration-and the methods developed around the study of social movements and the cultural history of the political milieu.

Originality:

the paper focuses on Pope John Paul II’s trip to Spain in October and November of 1982. A few days before his arrival, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (psoe) had won the general elections by a vast absolute majority. For the first time after General Franco’s death, a nominally left-wing party took over the government’s control. In that context, the Papal visit had great political relevance: significant media and political opposition against that new government came together around John Paul II.

Conclusions:

through the trips of the Vatican State’s head, the Catholic Church mobilizes Catholics in the streets, which transforms the crowds turning out to accompany the Pope into actual marches in which religious recognition mixes with political demands. The trip analyzed in this article, whose logic echoed in multiple spaces during the Papacy of John Paul II, shows us an institution of a marked transnational character capable of acting as an authentic political agent.

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