Today we visited Montserrat, a Benedictine Monastery located about an hour outside Barcelona, founded in the 11th century to honor the 9th century appearance of the Virgin Mary in a nearby cave.
The basilica at the heart of the complex today houses a black wooden statue of Mary holding the Christ Child, an image known as the Virgin of Montserrat and honored since 1881 as the co-patron saint for all Catalunya.
The weather, clear, bright and sunny, was the best of the trip so far. The cablecar ride up the mountainside proved breathtaking. The sanctuary (refurbished in 1990) was illuminated by camera flash almost more than by the varied donated lanterns lining the walls throughout (despite signs prohibiting the use of cameras altogether).
Throughout the time we were there, the line of the faithful hoping to touch the globe held in the Virgin's outstretched hand wound slowly, slowly, slowly up towards the high altar where the popular image is housed in a large protective glass cylinder, an option we ultimately chose to honor in the breach.
We did enjoy the hour or so spent in the art museum, filled with representative works by various impressionists and Catalan artists worth getting to know.
The surrounding mountain trails also are popular for hiking and lead to numerous hermitages to which meditating monks might retreat in times past -- although today they were crowded mainly by visiting pilgrims and tourists arriving busload after busload.
All in all, the experience proved more "touristic" than "spiritual", but we did enjoy strolling around in the sun, taking in the crystaline views all the way to the Mediterranean more than thirty miles away.
... and the picture-taking opportunities were priceless!
The basilica at the heart of the complex today houses a black wooden statue of Mary holding the Christ Child, an image known as the Virgin of Montserrat and honored since 1881 as the co-patron saint for all Catalunya.
The weather, clear, bright and sunny, was the best of the trip so far. The cablecar ride up the mountainside proved breathtaking. The sanctuary (refurbished in 1990) was illuminated by camera flash almost more than by the varied donated lanterns lining the walls throughout (despite signs prohibiting the use of cameras altogether).
Throughout the time we were there, the line of the faithful hoping to touch the globe held in the Virgin's outstretched hand wound slowly, slowly, slowly up towards the high altar where the popular image is housed in a large protective glass cylinder, an option we ultimately chose to honor in the breach.
We did enjoy the hour or so spent in the art museum, filled with representative works by various impressionists and Catalan artists worth getting to know.
The surrounding mountain trails also are popular for hiking and lead to numerous hermitages to which meditating monks might retreat in times past -- although today they were crowded mainly by visiting pilgrims and tourists arriving busload after busload.
All in all, the experience proved more "touristic" than "spiritual", but we did enjoy strolling around in the sun, taking in the crystaline views all the way to the Mediterranean more than thirty miles away.
... and the picture-taking opportunities were priceless!
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