On Thursday, July 30, the Governing Board of the Madrid City Council approved the naming of the green space located near the Metropolitano Stadium, in the San Blas-Canillejas district, as Benedict XVI Park. The area is boundedby the Carlos Llamas roundabout, Luis Aragonés Avenue, Arcentales Avenue, and the M-40, according to an announcement by Deputy Mayor and Municipal Spokesperson Inma Sanz.
The decision stems from the commitment Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeidamade following Pope Leo XIV’s recent visit: to honor Popes Benedict XVI and Francis through green spaces in the capital. In the case of the Argentine pontiff, the initiative has already been approved by the Latina District Council and is pending ratification by the Governing Board; once that process is complete, Caramuel Park will be renamed Pope Francis-Caramuel Park.
The future Benedict XVI Park covers an area of more than 105,000 m², which has been unused until now, and is located next to the future City of Sports, in the area of the Metropolitano Stadium. Construction is already in its final phase. The park will feature areas for relaxation and strolling, playgrounds for children and seniors, and the planting of some 2,000 new trees.
Ratzinger’s Connection to Madrid
The City Council justifies the name by citing the intellectual and historical significance of Joseph Ratzinger (1927–2022), a Doctor of Theology, university professor, and author of an extensive body of philosophical, theological, and cultural works. As leader of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013, he made history by voluntarily resigning from the papacy. The central rationale behind the park’s name, however, is Madrid’s hosting of World Youth Day 2011, presided over by Benedict XVI.
That international gathering brought together hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world in the capital and had a significant social, cultural, and economic impact on the city. The new space joins the John Paul II Park, dedicated to Ratzinger’s predecessor, and the future Pope Francis-Caramuel Park in the Latina district, thus completing the institutional recognition of three of the most recent popes with direct ties to Madrid.