BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will bridge 1,000 years of church history Wednesday, visiting a medieval monastery on a mountaintop that local Catholics consider sacred and then celebrating Mass at Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia Basilica.Montserrat, a healthy drive from the city followed by a steep ascent, is dear to many of the Catalan people in northeastern Spain. Annually, 2 million people travel to the complex that includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey as well as a 16th-century basilica. Its Black Madonna statue, which studies show originally was white but turned dark by centuries of smoke and incense before being painted black, is widely revered.But for many Catholics watching from afar — and especially non-Catholics — the highlight of the Chicago-born pope’s seven-day trip to Spain will be his evening Mass at the Sagrada Familia — the Basilica of the Holy Family — commemorating the centennial of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí. Leo will speak almost exclusively Spanish on the trip, with some comments in Catalan.The visit illustrates his balancing act of upholding centuries-old religious traditions in a country where faith is waning while reaching a global audience from a basilica that is more a magnet for tourists than believers. Yet the two sites share a connection even some locals don’t know.
Pope Leo will tap into the Sagrada Familia's allure while honoring Catalonia's holy mountain
Pope Leo XIV will bridge 1,000 years of church history Wednesday when he visits a medieval monastery on a mountaintop that local Catholics consider sacred and then celebrates Mass at Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia Basilica.











