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Anti-Pope demonstrators gathered in Puerta del Sol in central Madrid
A number of the demonstrators clashed with police after marching to the central Sol square chanting slogans.
Earlier, Spanish police arrested a Mexican student for allegedly plotting to gas the anti-Pope rallies.
The trip comes at a time of economic hardship in Spain, although organisers say the pilgrimage is self-funded.
Up to a million pilgrims from across the world have gathered
in the city for the six-day World Youth Day (WYD 2011) festival, which
culminates with an open-air mass on Sunday celebrated by Pope Benedict
XVI.
The Pope will arrive at Madrid's Barajas airport on Thursday
morning and hold meetings with young people at WYD 2011 later in the
day.
'Clashes'
Protesters and police scuffled in central Madrid
More than 100 groups opposed to the Pope's visit planned to protest on Wednesday evening.
They include those who belong to the 15-M "indignant"
movement - who oppose the government's austerity drive - as well as gay
rights groups and others who oppose aspects of Catholic teaching.
"We are not angry about the Pope's visit, which some will
agree with and others won't, but rather over the financing of it with
public money, especially at a time when many services are being cut
because it's necessary to curb government spending," 15-M said in a
statement.
Protesters walked into the old city centre shouting "Nothing for the Pope from my taxes".
"It is costing a lot of money for the Spanish state which is
going through a bad period," one protester, 55-year-old Rosa Vazquez,
told Reuters news agency.
Madrid saw a giant Mass on Tuesday evening
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Madrid said tension increased as
the protest attempted to cross Sol square, the site - and symbol - of
months of mass protests against unemployment and austerity.
When police tried to clear the square, officers in riot gear
clashed with demonstrators - some of them throwing bottles and
water.Spain is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, with
its 21% unemployment rate in the highest in the EU.
Organisers say they believe the event will generate about
100m euros (£88m; $144m) for the Spanish economy "at zero cost to
taxpayers", but critics estimate the event will cost a similar sum.
The government has declined to give a figure for the costs, according to Reuters.
'Chemical attack planned'
On Wednesday, Spanish police said they had apprehended a
Mexican chemistry student who had planned to attack an anti-Pope march
with "asphyxiating gases and other chemical substances".
Officers searched his apartment seized an external hard-drive
and two notebooks with chemical equations not related to his studies at
his apartment, police said.
The WYD 2011 festival began on Tuesday evening with a giant
open-air Mass where about 800 bishops, archbishops and cardinals from
around the world and 8,000 priests tended to the congregation, AFP news
agency reports.
Hiroshi Niwuya, a 22-year-old Japanese student, said: "I
really wanted to come here for the Pope because there are few Christians
in Japan and I wanted to be surrounded by others who share my faith."
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