The Pope’s visit triggers the sale of religious books at the Book Fair: “The encyclical has been out of stock for hours”

The visit of Pope Leo XIV, which coincided with the 84th edition of the Madrid Book Fair, has boosted the sale of religious books, as booksellers have agreed to point out. “The encyclical has been out of print for hours,” David Martinez, from Ediciones Palabra, told Europa Press.

Word has sold out both the first and second editions of Leo XIV’s encyclical, ‘Magnifica Humanitas’, of which they had brought 200 copies to the Fair. This Sunday morning, after the Holy Mass in Cibeles, Martínez sold the last copies he had left.

“The truth is that people came down after mass, asked about the encyclical and took it,” he explained. The bookstores of the Paulinas publishing house are of the same opinion, indicating that they have sold 349 encyclicals during this fair.

For its part, the San Pablo publishing house has also exhausted its stock of the encyclical but specifies that they are “constantly replenishing it,” as Susana, one of the San Pablo booksellers, has commented.

“People come asking about it. They ask and they take it. In addition, this weekend there has been much more sales or at least more traffic. They have also asked a lot about the Pope’s biography,” he detailed.

Along the same lines, from Editorial Edice, David Zazo has pointed out that the interest in the encyclical is also explained by its inaugural nature. “The first encyclical of each Pope is like a program, it will mark his pontificate,” he noted, which explains why it has been exhausted “quite quickly, more so coinciding with the visit.” Zazo also recalled that since last year the publishing house has had a greater demand for works related to Saint Augustine since Leo XIV was an Augustinian Pope.

However, the phenomenon has not been limited to the encyclical. At the Editorial Clie booth – which is participating in the fair for the first time – Loreto Rodríguez has highlighted an unusual interest in patristics.

“Many people have come to ask about our books on the history of patristics and the patristic Bible,” he explained, adding that sales of these titles have increased “remarkably.” “The interest in the history of the Christian Church has also been significant, they have been consulting it a lot,” he added.

INTEREST AMONG “PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT RELIGIOUS”

“People who are not religious have come to ask questions,” said Saúl Fernández, from Editorial San Esteban, who, as an anecdote, told the case of a person who approached the booth telling them that he was an atheist and wanted to become a Christian.

“I imagine that it has something to do with the Pope being here,” reflected Fernández, who also explained that the booth is “constantly” restocking copies of the encyclical, although visitors are also becoming interested in other religious titles.

For its part, a family from Zaragoza who attended the Holy Mass in Cibeles this morning decided to stop by the Book Fair to buy both the encyclical and the biography of the Pontiff. “We really enjoyed the Mass and then we went to eat and now we have decided to come and buy the books before leaving Madrid. It has been a bit difficult for us to find them, because we have asked at some booths that were out of stock,” Marta explained to Europa Press, who attended the Fair accompanied by her daughters.

“I came looking for the encyclical because I find it very interesting that a Pope talks about artificial intelligence,” said Rodrigo, a 24-year-old young man who has not attended any of the Pontiff’s events because he is “overwhelmed” by the crowds. “I haven’t gone to see Bad Bunny either, it’s hard for me when there are a lot of people,” he lamented.