The last embrace of the Raval in the Viqui

Barcelona"The church is at its limit, but we are where Viqui wanted us to be." When Peio Sánchez, the parish priest of the Santa Ana del Raval parish, said this first sentence, there were still dozens of people in the Barcelona basilica trying to find a small space to stay in. "Today we had to be there," stressed an elderly woman sitting on a folding chair. We had to be there to say goodbye, as she wanted, to Viqui Molins, the street nun that transferred on February 20 after dedicating her life to helping hundreds of people in vulnerable situations.

"Viqui's dream was that we would say goodbye to her here because this is the church that is always open to everyone," the priest insisted proudly, in front of the space where Molins promoted the field hospital that for years has been a refuge for the most vulnerable in the city. The wave of solidarity led by the nun has meant that an hour before beginning her farewell - she preferred to see it as a prayer of homage - all the pews in the small church in Raval were full. But the lack of space has not been an impediment for Barcelona to give a last hug to the one that many have considered "mother, grandmother and, above all, friend." "It will surely be a fond moment, you all have memories with Viqui, but above all you have her hugs," said the priest during a heartfelt ceremony that even had moments to remember how "trapped" Molins was in his day to day life.

Hundreds of people who knew her came to the temple, personalities such as the Minister of Justice Ramon Espadaler, the Barcelona City Councillors Albert Batlle and Damià Calvet, the journalists Antoni Bassas and Albert Om and the singer Marina Rossell. But above all, many of the people she had helped came to say goodbye to Viqui for the last time.

"She had the ability to help with beauty. A beauty that gives dignity when helping others," a woman among those present carefully described during the spontaneous prayer session. The message and tenderness were repeated with various formulas during the almost two-hour ceremony: "It was impossible not to laugh with her. I want to ask the Lord for more Viquis to make a happier and more faithful Church," a young woman prayed.

Anna, one of the social workers who accompanied the nun in her charitable work for more than two decades, recalled how Molins taught them "that God's favourites were those excluded from society." "You taught me to listen with my eyes and see how a vulnerable person shines. To see that glow that only sees God, and to always go with love first," she explained while many of those present nodded in agreement.

"The blanket that hugs you and makes you feel at home"

At the farewell, more than twenty people wanted to say a few words of gratitude for the work of the street nun. One of them was Neli, representing the dozens of women Molins helped at the Espai Dones de Santa Anna. "Thank you for showing the way to so many women and teaching us that we can get to where we want to go," she thanked. Neli was followed by Fausia, a Muslim girl who recited a fragment of the Koran from the top of the presbytery to show how Viqui "helped everyone, whatever they believed."

One of the moments in which Molins' work was most reflected was almost at the end of the tribute. A group of young people around twenty came out to explain why they were in the parish this afternoon. They are kids who live in the opportunity homes that the nun promoted to help vulnerable young people so that they have a roof over their heads and, ultimately, a home. Maria, representing all of them, wanted to offer a blanket among the dozens of objects that the people of Barcelona have left as an offering at the table in the center of the temple where about 400 people who live in a situation of social exclusion have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.

"We want to leave a blanket because it represents what Viqui was and will always be in our lives: that blanket that embraces you and makes you feel at home," the young woman explained. "She loved us as if we were her grandchildren and, far from home, her hugs gave us comfort and joy. What you have planted in us will sprout over time: we always love you," she added.

The end of Molins' farewell has been exactly what she wanted: Marina Rossell has sung the Virolai, but her voice quickly merged with that of the hundreds of people who gathered at the church of Santa Ana to give a last hug to Viqui, the nun who gave them everything.