The extraordinary global resonance of Rosalía's latest album, the success of the film Los domingos, the media coverage of the papal succession, and the more or less "spiritual" bias (the quotation marks are important here) of certain high-audience series have led to the expression "Catholic spring" being used in certain circles. I already referred to Rosalía's specific case a few months ago, because it seemed significant to me, to say the least. The fact that it is a genuine marketing product, albeit of high aesthetic and musical quality, does not discredit the real interest it has generated among many young people (and not so young). How should all this be interpreted? The CIS data show that there has been no increase in the practice of Catholicism in Spain in recent years, but rather a slow and sustained decrease. According to CIS surveys, the percentage of the population declaring themselves Catholic —practicing or not— has fallen from around 60% in 2020 to 55.4% in April 2025, with a particularly marked drop among non-practicing Catholics. In parallel, the groups of agnostics, indifferent, and atheists continue to grow, together accounting for nearly 40% of the population. The CIS does not detect, therefore, any "spring", that is, any generalized upturn; in fact, the dominant trend is progressive secularization. Catholicism continues to be the majority religion in Spain, yes, but it has not experienced any real growth, at least during the 2020-2025 period. All of this, however, does not quite align with the references we presented at the beginning. So, what is happening?There is no structural revival, nor of vocations, nor of liturgical participation, nor of the global proportion of Catholics, but there are micro-tendencies that no one expected and that suggest certain changes in attitude. Could they be symptoms of a minority but significant cultural change? We will see. What we are witnessing is not a sudden explosion of spiritual fervor, but rather the progressive exhaustion of a life model that, for decades, has presented consumption and ultra-individualistic self-sufficiency, without ties or commitments, as immediate paths to happiness. This narrative, which took root strongly from the second half of the 20th century, has been showing its cracks as younger generations have experienced firsthand the consequences of a fragmented, accelerated, and often meaningless life, which demands more and more stimuli (generally, by paying).

A lock of blond hair from Jaume I, kept in the Palau de la Música Catalana. The dramatic transformation of Plaça Sant Agustí in the Raval district when the statue of Saint Rita is brought out and the faithful leave messages filled with hopeful petitions to the patron saint of impossible causes. Splinters from the cross on which Jesus was tortured and killed, treasured in the church of Anglesola. A drop of blood from John Paul II, preserved in the church of Our Lady of Prat in Argelès. The Virgin Mary's milk held by the Old Guild of Resellers Association 1447 in Plaça del Pi, Barcelona. The bones of Saint Felix in Vilafranca del Penedès. These are just some of the relics, of legendary origin, that journalist Sergi Ramis (Barcelona, ​​1964) has been finding in chapels, museums, altars, and crypts throughout Catalonia. He explains it, with a good dose of humor, in The Path of Bones: A True Journey Through the Catalonia of Relics (Column).

Movements within the Catalan Church. Catholic Catalanism has decided to mobilize, organize itself, and exert pressure on the Catalan clergy and their grassroots members, as well as on the Holy See, according to several sources in this newspaper. This comes at a crucial moment when Pope Leo XIV must make essential decisions regarding the appointment of bishops, such as the one in Barcelona, ​​but also in a context marked by the proliferation of Catholic initiatives with conservative or ultraconservative and pro-Spanish leanings. Specifically, some thirty Catholic and Catalan nationalist organizations, many with a social focus, have joined together in the Network of Christian Entities, which has existed for a few months but was officially launched at an event this Thursday at noon.

Just a few days ago, a friend gave me two booklets published in the early 1930s by the Foment de Pietat Catalana, founded in 1909 by Eudald Serra i Buixó. And this wasn't just any year: it was the year of the Tragic Week. The two volumes I'm referring to contain the encyclicals Rerum Novarum (1891) of Leo XIII and Fortieth Year –better known as Restoration of social order– of Pius XI (1931). The translation is done in a standardized but at the same time archaic Catalan; that of Rerum Novarum It's from 1933, and the one from Fortieth Year From 1931. In the 1930s, amidst the global economic crisis and the rise of totalitarianism, these encyclicals gained prominence in the European social and political debate. They could be interpreted as a kind of third way between liberal capitalism, which the 1929 crisis had profoundly discredited, and communism, which was advancing as a radical alternative and which the Church considered incompatible with its principles. In this turbulent context, the reception of Catholic social doctrine was diverse and often contradictory.

King Felipe VI's upcoming visit to Montserrat on the eve of Saint John's Day has caused a stir among Catalan Catholic circles, suggesting that consultations within the Royal Household pointed in that direction. The Newspaper published that the monarch would attend on June 23, but at that time, despite the Head of State's intention to attend, no details had been agreed upon between the institutions nor had the king's attendance been formally communicated, according to sources familiar with the matter to this newspaper. The Montserrat Abbey, symbol of Catalanism, has he opened the doors to the head of state?

Pope Francis briefly reappeared before the faithful this Sunday to impart his blessing. urbi et orbi, in Rome and around the world. From the central gallery of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, in front of more than 35,000 people, the Pontiff delivered his blessing in a whisper and wished everyone a happy Easter.