Pope Leo XIV visited the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat in Barcelona this Tuesday, where he led the recitation of the Holy Rosary before the image of the Virgin of Montserrat, popularly known as “La Moreneta”.
The visit to the shrine took place after the Pontiff’s morning meeting with inmates at Brians 1 prison. Leo XIV then traveled by helicopter to Montserrat, where he was welcomed by the Bishop of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Monsignor Xabier Gómez García, and by the Abbot of the monastery, Manel Gasch i Hurios.
Nearly a thousand children awaited him in the basilica’s atrium. After entering the church, the Pope prayed for a few moments in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and then proceeded to the presbytery, where the Rosary was recited.
Below are the words of Leo XIV:
Saludo cordialment a Vostra Excel·lència, monsenyor Xavier Gómez García, al Pare Abat de Montserrat Dom Manel Gasch i Huriós. També als Bisbes, sacerdots, religiosos i religioses, seminaristes i tots els fidels que participen en aquest peregrinatge. Particularment, als nens i nenes que ens acompanyen avui. Gràcies per acollir-nos, gràcies per la vostra presència.
[I cordially greet Your Excellency, Mons. Xavier Gómez García, Father Abbot of Montserrat Manel Gasch i Hurios, as well as the bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and all the faithful taking part in this pilgrimage—especially the boys and girls who accompany us today. Thank you for welcoming us; thank you for your presence.]
Estic content de poder estar als peus de la Moreneta per encomanar-li, ple de confiança en la seva intercessió maternal, el meu servei petrí i la missió de l’Església en el món que clama demanant justícia i pau.
Amb emoció he recordat els meus anys com a rector de la parroquia de Santa Maria de Montserrat, a Trujillo, Perú. La Moreneta sempre m’ha acompanyat. Gràcies, Catalunya, per la vostra fe.
Els murs d’aquest recinte podrien explicar-nos les innombrables histories de devoció, agraïment i esperança que han contemplat al llarg dels segles al voltant de la Mare de Déu de Montserrat i també han estat testimonis de la sang vessada per amor a Jesucrist.
Així mateix en aquests murs han estat custodiades les alegries i les penes, els goigs i les llàgrimes de tants fidels, i han escoltat també les veus celestials del cant infantil de l’Escolania més antiga d’Europa.
[I am happy to be at the feet of the Moreneta to entrust to her, with full confidence in her maternal intercession, my Petrine service and the Church’s mission in a world crying out for justice and peace.
I fondly recall my years as pastor of the parish of Santa María de Montserrat in Trujillo, Peru. The Moreneta has always accompanied me. Thank you, Catalonia, for your faith.
The walls of this enclosure could recount the countless stories of devotion, gratitude and hope that, over the centuries, have unfolded around the Mare de Déu of Montserrat; they have also witnessed the blood shed for love of Jesus Christ.
Within these same walls the joys and sorrows, the exultations and tears of so many faithful have been kept safe, and they have likewise heard the heavenly voices of the children’s choir of Europe’s oldest escolania.]
When my Predecessor, the Pope Francis, in 2023 offered the Golden Rose to this venerated image, he invited us to consider how, for hundreds of years, the faithful without distinction have passed through this Shrine, telling the beads of the Rosary, because Mary, Mare de Déu, is fundamental in the life of every Christian. On that same occasion he noted that “before the Mother … the noblest sentiments of a person are awakened” (Address to the members of the Confraternity of the Mare de Déu de Montserrat, 7 October 2023); indeed, she prompts deep conversions within us, such as that of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who in this evocative place, after a night of prayer before the Virgin, laid down his knightly arms—a moment that marked the beginning of a new life at the service of Jesus Christ.
With this same filial attitude, I invite you today to welcome Mary’s invitation: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). These words spoken at Cana of Galilee contain a true program for Christian living, because Mary leads us to Christ and teaches us to listen to his voice, obey his word and allow him to transform us. Jesus’ will is clear: “This is my commandment, that you love one another” (Jn 15:17). It is a love whose measure and source are found in him: “As I have loved you” (v. 12). Therefore, when Mary tells us, “Do whatever he tells you,” she invites us to attain a heart reconciled with the criteria of the Gospel.
Jesus shows us the way of mercy, reconciliation, truth and meekness. At the same time, he unmasks the violence that can hide in our words and attitudes: the criticism that humiliates, the condemnation that destroys, the aggression that divides. This hidden violence often dons apparent armor with which we try to protect our wounds, our fears or the suffering caused by injustice.
Contemplem a la Mare de Déu de Montserrat que ens mostra Jesús com un nen indefens reposant a la seva falda, doncs aquí està la Mare, amb el seu Fill, convidant-nos a estimar-nos els uns als altres. Deposem avui als seus peus les cuirasses que han endurit poc a poc el cor.
El Nen Déu que Maria sosté en els seus braços, no porta armadures i serà Ell mateix qui després, despullat a la creu s’abandonarà totalment al Pare per salvar-nos amb la força desarmada i desarmant de l’amor.
[Let us contemplate the Mother of God of Montserrat, who shows us Jesus as a defenseless child resting in her lap; for here is the Mother, with her Son, inviting us to love one another. Today let us lay at her feet the armor that has gradually hardened our hearts.
The Child-God whom Mary holds in her arms wears no armor, and it will be he himself who, later stripped upon the cross, will abandon himself totally to the Father in order to save us with the unarmed and disarming power of love.]
Let us lift our eyes to Mary and implore her to help us put on only the armor of God, as Saint Paul exhorts us: “Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith … and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:14-17).
Avui, com a peregrins a Montserrat, manifestem el sincer desig de reafirmar el nostre servei a Déu Pare que ens ha revelat Jesucrist, qui ens diu: «Qui acull un d’aquests infants en nom meu, a mi m’acull, i qui m’acull a mi, no m’acull a mi, sinó el qui m’ha enviat» (Mc 9, 37).
Considerem també com la Verge Maria, a la mà dreta, sosté l’esfera del món, signe de la seva cura materna, perquè el món sencer té cabuda en el seu cor. Ella ens invita a reconèixer-nos germans i germanes, on ningú quede excluit i on la comunió sigui més forta que tota divisió.
[Today, as pilgrims in Montserrat, let us manifest the sincere desire to reaffirm our service to God the Father who has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ, who says to us: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” (Mk 9:37).
Let us also consider how the Virgin, in her right hand, holds the sphere of the world, a sign of her maternal care, because the whole world has a place in her heart. She invites us to recognize ourselves as brothers and sisters, where no one is excluded and where communion is stronger than every division.]
Let us ask Mary, Queen of Peace, to teach us to renounce wounding words, hasty judgments, gossip and slander. And let us learn to guard and cultivate love in the family, among friends, in the workplace, on social networks, in political debates and in Christian communities, so that hatred may give way to hope and peace.
May Mary, Mother of the Church, always direct us toward Jesus. I invite you to greet her with these words:
Dels catalans sempre sereu la Princesa,
dels espanyols i de tot el món l’amor;
Digueu-nos: “Sou el meu tresor,
jo sóc la vostra mare, no tingueu por”.
Que així sigui.
[Let us ask Mary, Queen of Peace, to teach us to renounce wounding words, hasty judgments, gossip and slander, and to learn to guard and cultivate love in the family, among friends, in the workplace, on social networks, in political debates and in Christian communities, so that hatred may give way to hope and peace.
May Mary, Mother of the Church, always direct us toward Jesus. I invite you to honor her with these words:
Of the Catalans you will always be the Princess,
of the Spaniards and of the whole world the love;
Say to us: “You are my treasure,
I am your mother, do not be afraid.”
Amen.]
Greeting from the Balcony
After the blessing, the singing of the Salve Regina and the Virolai, Leo XIV withdrew for a few moments to pray in the Virgin’s chapel.
He then greeted the faithful gathered in the square from the monastery balcony and thanked Catalonia for its welcome, also highlighting the work of Montserrat’s Benedictine community in receiving the pilgrims who come to the shrine to pray before the Virgin.
Below are the Pope’s impromptu words:
Germans i germanes, bon dia.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for this beautiful manifestation of faith. All of us united in one single family, with that welcome from our Mother Mary, the Virgin of Montserrat.
The joy, enthusiasm and deep sense of faith that we are experiencing these days: first Madrid, now Barcelona, Catalonia, then the Canary Islands. All of Spain is filled with faith, with love, filled with this desire to praise God, to give thanks to God and to be united.
Thanks to Catalonia for having welcomed so many people from other countries, because it teaches how to integrate everyone into one single family.
Thanks to the community of faith, to the community of our brothers the monks who receive and welcome all the pilgrims who come to pray to Mary our Lady.
Thanks to each and every one of you who are here this morning to remind everyone—in Catalonia, in Spain, in the world—that faith gives life, and faith gives hope.
And it is Mary, whom Jesus gave us as Mother from the cross, it is Mary who accompanies us, who is the expression of maternal love that will always accompany us.
Blessing.
Thank you, thank you to all.