Among the many gestures that have marked the visit of Leo XIV to Spain, one of the most significant has gone almost unnoticed. It did not take place during an official audience or in a great doctrinal speech, but around a Marian hymn that forms part of the religious soul of Catalonia.
During the prayer vigil held on June 9 at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium and again the following day at the Abbey of Montserrat, the Escolania performed the Virolai, the hymn dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat composed by Jacint Verdaguer and Josep Rodoreda. Among its verses resounded a phrase that for generations was accepted with complete naturalness by the faithful, but which in recent years has become uncomfortable for certain sectors: «Dels catalans sempre sereu Princesa; dels espanyols, Estrella d’Orient».
This is not a later addition or a biased reading. It is part of the original text and expresses a reality that has historically accompanied devotion to Montserrat: the Moreneta is profoundly Catalan, but never exclusively Catalan.
An advocation that transcends borders
The history of Montserrat disproves any attempt to reduce the Virgin to a local or identity symbol.
For centuries there have been parishes, chapels, confraternities, and communities dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat in numerous places across Spain. The spread of this devotion did not respond to political projects or cultural campaigns, but to the spiritual strength radiating from the Benedictine sanctuary.
The very visit of Leo XIV has once again highlighted this universal dimension. Thousands of pilgrims from different parts of Spain took part in the events held in Catalonia, confirming that Montserrat continues to be a point of reference for Catholics of very diverse backgrounds.
The most significant detail of the papal address
However, what mattered most was not only that the Escolania performed the Virolai. What was truly significant is that Leo XIV himself chose to take up that tradition at the culminating moment of his address before the Virgin of Montserrat.
After speaking of reconciliation, meekness, and the need to overcome divisions, Leo XIV asked Mary to teach Christians to renounce «hurtful words, hasty judgments, gossip, and slander».
It was then that he invited the faithful to address the Moreneta with words inspired directly by the famous stanza of Verdaguer:
«Dels catalans sempre sereu la Princesa,
dels espanyols i de tot el món l’amor».
The reference was not accidental. The Pope had heard those verses during the vigil held the night before. And when the moment came to conclude his speech, he expressly chose to take them up again.
Catalonia, Spain, and the universality of the Church
The Pontiff did not remove the reference to Spain. Nor did he replace it with a neutral formulation. He kept the reference to the Spanish and added an even broader dimension: «i de tot el món».
The Moreneta thus appears as Princess of the Catalans, a sign of love for the Spanish, and a spiritual reference open to the entire world.
It is difficult to find an expression more consistent with the nature of the Catholic Church, which does not destroy legitimate identities but integrates them into a higher reality.
Faith allows one to love one’s own land without turning it into an absolute. It allows one to value a culture without raising spiritual barriers against others.
A Virgin who belongs to no ideology
Precisely for this reason, the Virgin of Montserrat cannot be monopolized by any political project.
For decades, various sectors have attempted to present Montserrat as the exclusive heritage of certain ideological sensibilities. However, the ecclesial reality of the sanctuary has always been far greater than any partisan construction.
Leo XIV recalled this without the need to enter into political debates. He did so by appealing to the motherhood of Mary.
Because a mother does not divide her children. She gathers them.
That is why the Pope insisted that the Virgin invites everyone to recognize themselves as «brothers and sisters, where no one is excluded and where communion is stronger than any division».
The lesson of Montserrat
It is striking that some reports have highlighted other aspects of the pontifical address while overlooking this explicit reference to the traditional stanza of the Virolai.
However, the choice of those verses fits perfectly with the message that Leo XIV has repeated throughout his visit to Spain: the need to build bridges, overcome fractures, and recover what unites.
While the Escolania sang and the Pope prayed before the Moreneta, Montserrat offered a lesson that transcends any political circumstance.
The Virgin continues to be «Princesa dels catalans». Leo XIV affirmed this without reservation.
But he also wished to remind us that her motherhood does not end there. That is why he kept the reference to the Spanish and projected it toward a universal dimension.