A technical problem grounded Pope Leo XIV's flight home from Spain on Friday, prompting King Felipe VI to step in and offer a jet to fly the pope back to Rome.
Leo had been due to fly from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to Rome on a chartered Iberia flight at the end of a weeklong visit to Spain. After the captain announced that a technical problem had been found and the plane could not take off, the pope and members of his entourage left the aircraft. Roughly 80 journalists traveling with him were also on board.
King Felipe VI offered a Spanish Air Force Falcon for the journey, and the Spanish government said the aircraft used by the king would carry the pope and several members of his delegation to Rome. Felipe escorted Leo across the tarmac to the plane, which took off more than three hours after the original departure time. The Vatican said the flight was scheduled to leave Tenerife at 6 p.m. local time and arrive in Rome at around 11 p.m.
The delay capped a trip that took the pope to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands from June 6 to 12. The Vatican said the visit focused on issues including immigration, and the pope inaugurated a tower at the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona during the journey.
While papal planes have faced technical issues before, it is highly unusual for an aircraft carrying the pope to be unable to take off. Veteran Vatican reporters recalled weather-related diversions during the travels of earlier popes, including a 1986 flight carrying St. John Paul II that was forced to land in Naples because of a snowstorm.
The pope, who appeared relaxed during the trip, spoke informally with young people about family life and recalled playing soccer and other sports in his youth.
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