In Barcelona, it has been two intense days. The poor Pope, after the Canary Islands excursion with the final failure of the broken plane (what a ridiculous, Iberia airline!), looked tired, and I thought he was limping a bit. But the job of a pope involves these things. In Spain, which was the excuse so that the papal visit was not solely Catalan and Gaudí-related, they did everything they could to make a good impression. The king and queen – the queen with the white privilege – and all the fuss of bishops and cardinals. In Catalonia, it was a bit different, because here we have a bit more good taste and know how to do things a bit better. In fact, the Catalan visit had two main stages: Montserrat and the Sagrada Família. What surprised me was that the Montserrat event consisted of praying the rosary. Such an unliturgical prayer! But Montserrat is no longer what it was, even though the choir offered a spectacle worthy of the abbey's best times, the glorious times of Abbot Escarré. The choir appeared full: bishops and cardinals and singers, instead of monks; because, of monks, there are fewer and fewer every day...
The Pope had to go to Montserrat, by force. Especially for its symbolic meaning. But the Pope's visit to Barcelona was, for everyone, the Gaudí show. The basilica is not finished yet, but the tallest tower is. And this was the excuse to organize a blessing precisely on the centenary of the architect's death. When I was young, I was in favor of leaving Gaudí's work as it was. In fact, I was confident it would never be finished, and that reassured me. But, man, the Japanese appeared and started leaving their yen, and the Gaudí's edifice began to grow non-stop. And now you can see what it will all be like when it's truly finished, when the facade of Glory puts the final touch. I hope they commission it to Miquel Barceló: at least there will be something interesting in the whole complex. The time has come to say that I don't like the Sagrada Família at all, that I consider it the ugliest monument in Barcelona, and that this very tall tower, topped by the most horrible cross possible, this tower that has provoked the Pope's visit, is the tallest in the world (in a church!), but also the ugliest. But, well, here it is. Tourists will climb inside the cross (paying an entrance fee) and see Barcelona at their feet, just as those who climb the Eiffel Tower see Paris.
In Catalonia, Catalan is spoken (less and less every day) and when one of these shows is organized, the annoying Catalan language always appears to bother the organizers. The first news was that everything would be done in Spanish, the language of Spain, because for some reason the papal trip was to Spain and not to Catalonia. Then they said there would be parts, little parts, in Catalan. The poor Pope had to learn to say "Good morning"and pronounce, as best he could, fragments that had been chosen for him to read in Catalan. And so it went. Hopping from one language to another, from Catalan to Peruvian, the ceremonies and celebrations unfolded.
The Pope's visit was an impressive security deployment. Police, Mossos, and on top of that, the Swiss Guard, dressed in plain clothes (what a shame, that uniform of blue, yellow, and red stripes would have looked so good under the plane trees of the Eixample…). I saw that among these plainclothes Swiss there were a couple of specialists in lifting babies up to the Pope for him to bless. They were always the same ones, especially one, tall, well-built, impeccably slicked back.
This security apparently played a repressive role, especially at the end of the event at the Sagrada Família. The child singers started to come out, with lights in their hands. The adult singers were supposed to come out afterwards and, thus, sing all together. But the children had to sing alone. What had happened? Where were the adults? Well, the adults were being held back by security. By whom? By the Police? By the Mossos? Since at the Sant Esteve concert, at the Palau, at the end the singers unfurl senyeres and estelades and sing Elssegadors, someone was afraid that something similar would happen. They were forced to go outside and were held back. Cardinal Omella breathed a sigh of relief. President Illa breathed a sigh of relief. Mayor Collboni breathed a sigh of relief. And all those who knew about it, too.
And so the papal visit ended, without worries, without obstacles, without having to give explanations. Catalonia is pacified. Nothing remains of all that Process.
