I woke up to a sunny and warm Barcelona after flying in the night before from Amsterdam. It was October and autumn just started but Barcelona was warm and welcoming. My friend told me we’d be going off outside Barcelona. Since it was my first time setting foot in this city, I didn’t ask where we were headed to.
After buying our train tickets at the Plaça d’Espanya stop, my friend told me we were heading to Montserrat. I asked, “Where is it?”
She replied, “In the sky.”
They say that in Montserrat, nature, spirituality, and culture join together to provide visitors a unique experience. I have heard of Montserrat once from another friend who took this journey years before I did.
Located 60 kilometers away from Barcelona, our train trip lasted less than an hour. I have never searched Montserrat on Google during our trip. I thought it must be just a monastery that had a special history. It was my first time in Barcelona and since my friend has been living there for her graduate studies, she must have had a good look around the area. So, I just let her decide which places to visit during my 3-day stay.
When we arrived at the stop, I was looking for structures that would resemble a church but we walked through more steps outside the station and went inside Funicular Aeri de Montserrat located at the bottom of the Montserrat mountain. While walking towards the ticket office, I was mesmerized by the sight of the mountain ranges before us. The jagged mountains of Montserrat resemble the teeth of a saw, which gave it its name; Montserrat in Catalan translates to “saw mountain”.
The cable car to the monastery started its operations in the 1930s and its ascent is not a trip for the faint-hearted. Able to accommodate up to 35 people, it moved slowly up the mountain. While my ears popped a bit when the car ascended to 720 meters above sea level, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement as I gushed over the beautiful River Llobregat and its surrounding scenery.
As I look forward, I can now see structures along the tooth-shaped features of Montserrat. The monastery of Santa Maria became perceptible as the cable car approached the destination.
According to records, the monastery was founded in the 11th century and rebuilt from around the 19th to the 20th centuries after the Peninsula War. It is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict and as per current reports, is run by over 70 monks.
Work on the present church which houses an important Catholic relic, the Black Madonna, started in 1560 and the site was consecrated in 1592. Abbot Bartomeu Garriga, a former choir member of the Escolania de Montserrat, which is a boys’ choir of sopranos and altos, envisioned to build a temple for the Virgin, So, when he became the head of the abbey of monks in Montserrat, he initiated the construction of the basilica. The main architect who drew the original plan of the church is unknown yet but traces of the past can be followed through the Monstrol master craftsman, Miguel Sastre.
The external façade is also quite a sight. It was designed and constructed by Francesc Folguera i Grassi between 1942 and 1968 after the Spanish Civil war. Alongside the edges of the monastery were open arches housing some statues of saints such as Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the patron saint for teachers of youth, and Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests.
My friend and I walked toward the original façade which precedes the church, through the atrium. Several sculptures and paintings can be seen as I walked through the Plateresque Revival façade by Francisco de Paula del Villar y Carmona. According to my research, plateresque means “in the manner of a silversmith,” an artistic movement developed in the country. It was mostly present in structures built between the late Gothic and Renaissance periods. The basilica itself exudes with the artistic designs of this time, with the added flourish of traditional Catalan architecture.
There have been many stories surrounding the Virgin of Montserrat, or Our Lady of Montserrat. Some stories have it that the statue was found around the 880. Another says that the image was moved to the mountain around 718.
It has also been said that the Benedictine monks tried to move the relic to build their monastery but failed. Instead, they built around it. Today, an altar of gold surrounds the thin, long-faced Madonna and Child. The relic is mostly covered in glass except for the Madonna’s hand, which holds an orb of the earth on her right hand.
Catalonians lovingly refer to her as La Moreneta which means the “little dark-skinned one”. It is believed that the image was carved in Jerusalem by Saint Luke during the early days of the Church. The dark patina on the figure’s hands and face are attributed to prolonged exposure to smoke from the many candles and oil lamps the used to burn near the altar for many years in the small Romanesque church. Some also say that the color of the face and hands of this Virgin is most likely due to slow transformation, a process of the oxidation of varnish made from white lead.
For visitors and believers, touching the orb is the highlight of the pilgrimage to Montserrat. In doing so, many believe that they can be healed of their afflictions and indeed, thousands of miraculous accounts have been attributed to La Moreneta. Of course, I did not miss the chance to touch the orb. Although I didn’t need physical healing at that time, I truly believe that as a human, I could use a lot of mental, emotional, and spiritual restoration.
Growing up in a family deeply rooted in the tenets of the Catholic faith, visiting Montserrat meant so much more than just an excursion. I felt the devotion of the Catalan people to their patron saint, Our Lady of Montserrat. I was awed by their commitment to preserve centuries of tradition. And I witnessed how visitors from all corners of the world persist to take the pilgrimage to this universal sanctuary in the hope of gaining a miracle. The unique location of Montserrat, as well as the natural beauty of its surroundings, makes this mountain retreat an ideal site for devotees to experience spiritual healing.
I would sometimes look back to that adventure and poke myself, asking if it was just all a dream. To me, Montserrat is a piece of heaven on earth, a man-made masterpiece to house the mother of God. Perched up in the jagged mountains and away from the chaos of the city, it is a reachable sanctuary for helpless and restless souls like mine.
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