The Montserrat Abbey's invitation to King Felipe VI to participate in a millennium event sparked protests and unrest among the independence movement and Catholic Catalans. The visit, that occurred After the Royal House expressed that it wanted to take part, according to some voices consulted by this newspaper, it represents a further step in a political shift by Montserrat aligned with thestatus quo, while others, like the abbey, flatly deny it. Has there been a shift?

What should a king eat? During the Spanish monarchs' visit to Montserrat, the chefs at the Hotel Abat Cisneros were responsible for resolving this issue. They planned a catered banquet in the gardens near the monastery itself. In addition to the king and queen, the visiting guests also attended, including government officials, Minister Jordi Hereu, the Spanish government delegation, figures from the economic and business world, and, of course, the monks.

King Felipe VI landed in Catalonia this Monday to visit the Montserrat Abbey, a symbol of Catalan nationalism and where the country's patron saint is venerated. This visit has caused unrest among Catholic Catalans and the independence movement. In fact, his landing—by helicopter—including a prayer at the Moreneta (Birmingham Mass), sparked a protest outside the monastery by a few hundred people summoned by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), who were unable to even approach the basilica due to the absolute protection of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police). The king came to participate in an event commemorating the institution's millennium and to win the sympathy of the Catalan people with a speech delivered mostly in their own language, in which he also criticized "exclusionary identities" and "extremism." Aware that "its symbolic value transcends its enormous religious dimension," he hailed the abbey as "a great meeting point for our culture: Catalan, Spanish, and European."