The Church marginalizes Catalan in the Pope's visit

BarcelonaThe visit of Pope Leo XIV to Catalonia has caused bewilderment, at least regarding the use of language. The official missal for the visit to Spain was published this Monday and allows us to confirm that the Catalan language is marginalized to a secondary role in Catalonia, with Spanish having a preeminent position. It is so dominant that there will even be important parts exclusively in Spanish, such as the blessing of the tower of Jesus Christ in the Sagrada Familia basilica, which will take place coinciding with the centenary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, an architect deeply committed to Catalanism.

The organization had insisted in all press conferences that the presence of Catalan was "resolved" and that it would have an important role, and it was even said that "the Holy Father will speak in Catalan," as stated by Father Enric Puig, coordinator of the apostolic visit to Catalonia. But the supposed balance between Catalan and Spanish is not true, according to what the Holy See published this Monday. While during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, on the occasion of the consecration of the Sagrada Familia, there was a balance, a greater weight of Catalan than now, and a relevant presence of Latin, on this occasion Latin becomes anecdotal and Spanish will reign in the mass at the basilica.

If we take a look at the text provided by the Holy See and published by some dioceses in Spain, the Pope will only pronounce the initial rites in Catalan at the beginning of the mass: "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" and "Peace be with you." Afterwards, the pontiff will express himself exclusively in Spanish. Regarding the mass, the penitential act will be in Spanish, the first reading will be in Catalan –the second in Spanish–, the responsorial psalm will be in Catalan, but the singing of the Gospel will be in Spanish, half of the prayers will be in Spanish and the other half in Catalan, while the eucharistic liturgy will be entirely in Spanish. Only the Our Father will be saved, after the Creed will also be sung by the choir in Catalan. The choir will also perform the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), the Kyrie, the Gloria in excelsis Deo, or the Sanctus in Latin. Only the responses to each of the bilingual prayers of the faithful will be in Latin.

prevented him from attending the mass in honor of the fallen in 1714and unsuccessfully demanded that he speak to him in Spanish.

In the parishes of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, bilingual masses are proliferating, in a Hispanization that is denounced by Christian entities that demand that Catalan be at the center of ecclesial life. But the prospects for the Pope's mass have caused a shock. The president of the Spiritual League of Our Lady of Montserrat, Joan Maluquer, comments to ARA that "it is worrying how the archbishopric of Barcelona is incapable of defending our language". "In Barcelona, we have a clearly uprooted Church", he adds. The League is part of the Network of Christian Entities, which brings together ecclesial organizations with a Catalanist and social character. Indignation has spread throughout Catalan Catholicism, and among laypeople and religious throughout the Principality.