The Catalan Church is finalizing an agreement so that the Pope speaks Catalan at the Sagrada Familia

BarcelonaThe low presence of Catalan in the events planned for the visit of Pope Leo XIV has unleashed a wave of indignation and a chain reaction in Catalonia. In recent hours, the political sphere, led by the Government and the Parliament, along with civil society entities and a large part of the Catalan Church itself, have raised their voices to demand that the Vatican rectify and grant Catalan a leading role. According to various sources consulted by ARA, in fact, an agreement is being finalized to inform the Vatican that Catalan will finally also be present in the blessing at the Tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Familia. Consulted by ARA, the Archbishopric of Barcelona, headed by Joan Josep Omella, denies that any change has been communicated to the Vatican so far.

Several bishops have pressured Omella in public and in private to rectify the initial decision to dispense with Catalan in the main event of Leo XIV's visit to the State. The Archbishopric of Barcelona is responsible for the organization and, therefore, essentially has the authority to make the decision in coordination with the Holy See.

The bishop of Girona, Octavi Vilà, has openly defended that the blessing of the Tower of Jesus should be officiated in Catalan. In a statement to the media, the clergyman admitted that he misses more presence of Catalan in the planned events. While recalling that Pope Leo XIV usually speaks in English and Spanish, Vilà is confident that, at least, the interventions of the rest of the Catalan Church officials will ensure "a notable presence" of the language.

Sources from the Archbishopric of Tarragona tell ARA that the archbishop was "perplexed" by the dissemination of information about the ceremony. "It is a situation that must be discussed internally to correct this error," they comment. "We must try to get the Pope to speak in Catalan, it is very important for the country at the time of the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ," they add. In this regard, they will work to ensure "an evident presence of Catalan." Tarragona has episcopal primacy in Catalonia, even though the opinions of the Archbishopric are exclusive to this see unless all Catalan bishops meet in the Tarraconense Episcopal Conference. In turn, sources from the Bishopric of Lleida maintain that it can be "fixed before next Wednesday" and that "there can be more Catalan." In their opinion, "speaking Catalan is our way of being Christians," the pontiff will be seen speaking it, and there may be changes in the current missal.

Political and social indignation

In the political sphere, the President of the Parliament of Catalonia, Josep Rull, has initiated communications with the bishops and archbishops of the country, as well as with the Vatican itself, with the aim of ensuring that the Catalan language has a central and majority role in the events of the next papal visit. This request places special emphasis on the blessing ceremony of the new tower of Jesus Christ. According to parliamentary sources, Rull undertook these steps just after the pontiff's official agenda was made public and the first doubts about the use of Catalan arose.

These doubts have quickly turned into indignation. In this regard, Junts has demanded this Tuesday from the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, through a letter, to intervene against the "injustice" of sidelining Catalan in front of the Pope, vindicating Gaudí's linguistic commitment. In the same line of rejection, the Junts leader Carles Puigdemont has exploded, calling the decision a "shame" and an "insult" to the country, lamenting the ecclesiastical submission to "the language of power". The forcefulness has also come from Aliança Catalana, where its leader, Sílvia Orriols, has announced that she will snub the pontiff and will not attend the event precisely because of this almost exclusive use of Spanish. In fact, the vast majority of formations condemn the disregard for the language, with Vox being the only exception in defending the Pope's autonomy to choose the language.

In response to this climate of tension and demands for intervention, the Government has made a move. The executive's spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, confirmed at a press conference this Tuesday that the Generalitat has directly conveyed to the Vatican the "importance" of Catalan being present and respected during the visit of Pope Leo XIV. Paneque assured that, following these communications, the Government has perceived "receptiveness and sensitivity" from the Holy See towards this linguistic request. Nevertheless, the spokesperson highlighted that the visit itself "already shows this interest and affection for the country".

Beyond the political and institutional debate, civil society has wanted to put on the table the real scope of this grievance. Plataforma per la Llengua has denounced that Catalan will be relegated to a purely "testimonial" presence during the ceremony that the pontiff will officiate at the Sagrada Família. The entity warns that the country's own language will be belittled, as it will have much less weight than it did during the visit of Benedict XVI in 2010. According to their warnings, the bulk of the mass and the Gospel will be in Spanish, while Catalan will be limited to specific interventions such as the initial greeting, a reading, the responsorial psalm, and the Our Father.