GAD3 has carried out, for the organisation of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Spain, a study on the impact and experience of attendees at the papal visit. The study collects the responses of 5,027 people through an online interview (CAWI) conducted on July 7, 2026, with a sampling error of ±1.4%.
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98% rate the visit favourably
89% describe the visit as very positive and 9% as positive, totalling 98% of favourable opinions. Less than 3% are indifferent, negative or very negative.
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Lack of awareness of the Pope drops 43 points
Before the visit, 57% admitted to knowing little about him. By the end of the events, that percentage fell to 14%. Positive opinion rose from 90% to 98%.
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Personal and spiritual impact
The results of the spiritual impact are very high. 92% say that the visit helped them strengthen their desire to improve the world, and 91% indicate that it reinforced their personal relationship with God.
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The emotions: joy, hope and unity
99% felt joy during the visit, 97% enthusiasm and hope, and 95% peace, unity with others and spiritual connection.
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The messages that resonated most
The message about prayer and personal encounter with God had the greatest impact (19%), followed by living faith with joy and hope (17%). Among young people, the message about the role of young people in the Church stands out particularly.
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Personal resolutions after the visit
45% will try to live with more hope or joy and 41% will take better care of their spiritual life. Among those under 18, the resolution to help others more stands out (46%).
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Digital dissemination and media coverage
91% read, watched or listened to content about the Pope after the visit, and 89% shared photos or videos via WhatsApp. The most used social network during the events was Instagram (55%). 91% believe that the media coverage accurately reflected what was experienced.
Technical data sheet
Universe: Registered participants and volunteers at Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Spain.
Geographical scope: National.
Quotas: No predefined quotas: natural fall.
Data collection procedure: Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI).
Sample size: 5,027 interviews.
Questionnaire: Developed by the Youth Council of Castile and León.
Sampling error: ±1.4% (n=5,027) for a confidence level of 95.5% (two sigmas) and under the most unfavourable hypothesis of P=Q=0.5 assuming simple random sampling.
Interview duration: 3 – 4 minutes.
Fieldwork dates: July 7, 2026.
