Having breakfast at a street cafe with taxis passing is not unusual in any city; yet beneath this common facade lies Barcelona - a soulful place filled with passion and spirituality, and a Catalan culture steeped in creativity and doing things differently as individuals and as a community.
Take Antoni Gaudi for example and Sagrada Família - Barcelona’s Holy Family cathedral nearing completion.
Almost 140 years ago, Gaudi took the architectural and engineering design gig of working on an exemplary ‘neo-gothic’ cathedral. Shortly after he started, he had this revolutionary idea of an ‘inside-out’ design - where all the bible stories are etched into the exterior walls, and inspirational coloured light floods the interior spaces to support communal prayer and personal contemplation. Talk about a radical individual - and a passionately persistent local community - after all this time, the cranes are still there! But not for too much longer…
The central Christ tower and the four Evangelist columns are erected along with that symbolising Mary.
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While there is still a little bit to do, including extending the cathedral ‘foot print’ for the choir and organ to do their thing 👍- for all intents the church is completed in time for the centenary of his death 10 June 1926 - OMG 😧 next month, and (perhaps perhaps perhaps 🎵) imminent canonisation!
As I walked back towards the inner city, I encountered passion of a different kind - teachers and parents and children were protesting in defence of public education.
 | Not so much Australian style: ‘What do we want! When do we want it’ More like we are teachers, we are parents, and we are students - and we are not happy- government WE WANT YOU TO LISTEN
The inner city was clogged for a couple of hours, sure, okay - a peaceful powerful protest- Barcelona does it in style! The spirit of community, the value of education and the railing against unjust government imposition are values that endure. Catalan people are suspicious of authoritarian governments who don’t listen to the people - as George Orwell highlighted in his tribute to the people of Barcelona opposing fascism in ‘Homage to Catalonia’
After the excitement of the past few days, I decided to take a day trip by train to Monserrat, a monastic community complex dating from the 9th century on the outskirts of Barcelona. |
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Hermits once lived in caves around here - there’s lots to choose from.
The monastery complex is more easily accessible these days via cable car.
Th view was inspiring and the shapes of the cliffs had a mystical otherworldly quality (not unlike the exterior walls of the Sagrada Família - nice one Antoni!)
And depicted in this artwork from the 1930s on display in the museum at the top!
According to legend, children found a wooden carving of the black Madonna in a cave nearby- this became the subject of veneration and devotion and the community developed around it.
These days at the gift shop, you can get Black Madonnas in lots of sizes.
I walked in the hills above and was moved by the aura and spirit of the setting. No wonder it has been a site of contemplation for centuries.
On my way back I stopped by their Pilgrim office, and bought a Camino Santiago de Compostela credential. The kind staff members greeted me, stamped my document with their Monserrat signature,
They wished me ‘Buen Camino’ - and I was on my Way (again)
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