Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Madrid to attend the Catholic World Youth Day festival, which is expected to draw more than one million people from across the world.
It is his third visit to Spain as Pontiff.
He will be welcomed in the afternoon by pilgrims at a ceremony in the Plaza Cibeles in central Madrid, where protesters opposed to the visit clashed with police yesterday.
The protesters were separated by lines of riot police from the pilgrims who sang ‘hallelujah’ and sat on the ground and prayed, but clashes broke out when the police arrested an anti-Pope demonstrator who attacked them with a bottle.
The police eventually dislodged the last protesters from the central Puerta del Sol square late last night.
Reports said two policemen had been injured and six people arrested.
A 24-year-old Mexican chemistry student who is accused of plotting a gas attack on protesters against the Pope will appear in court today.
He was one of about 30,000 volunteers helping in the World Youth Day celebrations.
‘God yes, Church no!’ was one of the slogans chanted by the protesters as they marched across central Madrid on the eve of the 84-year-old pope's arrival in the Spanish capital for the rock-festival style World Youth Day celebrations.
More than 100 groups took part, uniting many causes, including those seeking a change in the Church's attitude to gay rights and those fighting for a clearer separation of church and state.
But the outcry that has struck a chord with many - including some priests - is over the official €50.5m price tag, excluding the cost of police and security, of the Madrid celebrations.
The protest groups, some of which argue the real cost of the event to taxpayers is more than €100m, are joining under the slogan: ‘The pope's visit, not with my taxes.’
Organisers say most of the cost will be covered by a registration fee from the assembled pilgrims, and the celebration will be a massive tourist boost for Spain.
But for many the celebrations are jarring at a time when the economy is faltering, the government is making painful cuts and the unemployment rate stands at 20.89%. For those under 25, the jobless figure is over 45%.
