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Madrid on Monday provided the backdrop for one of the most eagerly anticipated meetings as part of the papal visit: Leo XIV granted a private audience to Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny at the Bernabéu, RTVE (source in Spanish) has confirmed. Although there are no official images for now, it is known that the two of them spoke for a few minutes, taking advantage of their presence in Madrid over the past few days.
While Bad Bunny’s now legendary “casita” has been installed for days at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium, where the artist has been playing a ten-show residency since 30 May, the meeting between the two public figures took place in the city’s other major venue, the Santiago Bernabéu, where on Monday a “festival of faith” was held in front of 70,000 people.
It was precisely this overlap in Madrid, the city the Pontiff arrived in last Saturday, that had already fuelled speculation about a possible encounter between the head of the Church and today’s foremost exponent of perreo.
Shrouded in the Vatican’s customary discretion, the meeting became the best-kept secret of the visit. Some attendees took pictures on their mobile phones, but only one official image, captured by the papal entourage, is thought to have been authorised, pending the right moment for its publication.
The possibility of a meeting had already been hinted at days ago by the Archbishop of Madrid and vice-president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, José Cobo. “Madrid has a lot to offer. There are people who do not oppose, but build bridges, and bridges can be built,” he said. And he left two premonitory phrases: “Surprises are surprises” and such meetings “are handled with great discretion”.
The encounter between the Pontiff and the global reggaeton icon symbolises the dialogue between the Church and contemporary popular culture. It is no minor detail that Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, served as an altar boy in his childhood and sang in the parish choir in Vega Baja, in his native Puerto Rico, a fact that adds extra layers to a meeting that goes beyond the anecdotal.
Trump’s anger, an unexpected link
Beyond Spanish as a shared language, Leo XIV and Bad Bunny have another element in common: their increasingly public confrontation with the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
The US leader lashed out at the Holy Father after he condemned the war in Iran and described as “unacceptable” certain threats made by Trump himself, prompting the president to label him “weak”. Leo XIV responded without raising his voice: he would continue to proclaim peace “without fear”.
For his part, Bad Bunny has also been a target of Trump’s attacks, who was particularly critical of the Puerto Rican artist when it emerged that he would perform during the Super Bowl halftime show, seen by many as one of the spectacles that best reflects the American essence.
Trump reproached him, among other things, for his stance against the recent immigration raids in the United States. The artist responded from the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, championing Latin identity and proclaiming for all to hear: “God bless America”.