Pope Leo showered Spain's socialist Prime Minister with praise for his open-doors approach to migration as he kicked off his visit to the country yesterday.
The pontiff spoke at a reception hosted by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at Madrid's royal palace on Saturday evening.
There, he praised Spain's "active commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples" and highlighted its "faithful adherence to international law and multilateralism".
Migration is set to play a key role in the Pope's visit.
He will travel to the Canary Islands alongside Mr Sanchez to pay tribute to migrants who have died while attempting to reach Europe.
Nearly 47,000 people arrived on the Canary Islands in 2024 - though more than 9,000 migrants are thought to have died on the way.
But at home, Mr Sanchez sparked incredulity earlier this year when he offered up legal status to 500,000 migrants.
Massive queues piled up across Spain in April as the controversial mass migrant amnesty programme officially started.
Thousands of undocumented migrants were spotted lining up at more than 400 registration points across the country.
Pope Leo has showered praise on Spain's socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
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Santiago Abascal, the leader of the right-wing Vox party, has accused the socialist-led coalition of accelerating an "invasion" of Spain.
Pepa Millan, Vox's spokesman, warned the amnesty "attacks our identity" and confirmed the party would seek to block it through an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Though the Pope swatted away criticism of his "message of peace" in Madrid.
He said his words "at present unfortunately strike some as naive and others as confrontational" but should be "welcomed by those who do not shut themselves off in preconceived ideologies".
During his week-long visit, Pope Leo will also examine his own house, and meet victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
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Pope Leo hailed Spain's 'faithful adherence to international law'
| REUTERSSpeaking to journalists aboard his flight before landing, the Pope described sexual abuse as "an open wound" for the Church.
The Spanish Government and Catholic Church reached a compensation agreement in March following years of criticism that religious leaders had failed to address the problem.
A 2023 investigation by Spain's ombudsman estimated that 440,000 people had suffered abuse by clergy or Church-linked individuals, representing 1.1 per cent of the population.
The Church has disputed these figures.
King Felipe praised Pope Leo's "clarity and firmness" on the matter, calling it "essential in the process of healing and reparation of the damage inflicted".
Huge queues were seen snaking around in Barcelona as the amnesty officially started | REUTERSLike the Pope, Mr Sanchez has found himself at odds with Donald Trump over Iran, and has clashed with Israel over the war in Gaza.
Spain refused to grant the US access to its bases and airspace in the early stages of Operation Epic Fury.
The President has previously attacked the Prime Minister for refusing to front up its Nato spending commitments.
While the American-born pontiff has himself faced sharp criticism from Mr Trump for his anti-war stance.
Just weeks ago, the Pope decried how the world was being "ravaged by a handful of tyrants".
He later claimed those remarks were not about Mr Trump, blasting how reporting about comments he made on a tour of Africa has "not been accurate in all its aspects".