Pope Benedict XVI praised marriage between a man and a woman as part of "a loving plan of God," as he defended the traditional family yesterday at a Mass attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
The service in a Valencia park was the highlight of a two-day trip challenging a Socialist government that has angered the Vatican by introducing such liberal reforms as gay marriage and fast track divorce.
The German-born pope, wearing green vestments and a gold miter, stressed that the family is "founded on indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman."
Benedict said every family has its origin, and that "at the origin of every human being there is not something haphazard or chance, but a loving plan of God."
A papal altar was erected on a bridge over what was once the city's river. Many of the pilgrims wore hats, T-shirts and backpacks with the Vatican's yellow and white colors as they set off at dawn to find places next to a museum and an aquarium.
Benedict's 26-hour trip was intended to address a worldwide church meeting on the family and support traditional values in Spain.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had a 15-minute meeting with Benedict on Saturday afternoon, but aides said he would not be attending yesterday's Mass.
In a series of addresses after arriving from Rome, Benedict called the family "a unique institution in God's plan" and stressed the church considers a marriage proper only if between a man and a woman.
"I wish to set forth the central role, for the church and for society, proper to the family based on marriage," the pope said.
Zapatero was greeted by boos from neighborhood residents when he arrived for his meeting with Benedict.
The Vatican has warned that the family is under threat from such liberal reforms as gay marriage, which was recently legalized in Spain, as well as in the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada.
Many Spaniards have drifted away from the church in the three decades since the fall of the General Francisco Franco dictatorship, under which it enjoyed special privileges.
Spain has passed from being a bastion of Roman Catholicism to a predominantly lay society in less than a generation. Statistics show that while 80 percent of Spaniards still call themselves Catholics, only 42 percent believe in God and 20 percent go to Mass.
But tens of thousands turned out to greet Benedict when he arrived in Spain's third-largest city, and organizers expected as many as 1.5 million people to attend yesterday's papal Mass.
Benedict, visiting Valencia's 17th century cathedral, told his bishops he was aware of the secular drift in a country with "deep Christian roots" and urged them to "keep alive and vigorous this spirit, which has accompanied the life of Spaniards throughout their history."
Benedict addressed gay marriage before even getting off the plane.
"According to human nature, it is man and woman who are made for each other and to give humanity a future," he told reporters. "The church can't accept certain things. At the same time, it wants to help people and respect them."
Zapatero's government has also made it easier for Spaniards to divorce and halted a plan by a previous, conservative government to make religion classes mandatory in public schools.
Thousands of police helped provide security, which included sharpshooters atop buildings and AWACS planes from NATO patrolling the skies.
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