I couldn’t report on Salvador Dali and the Benedictine pilgrimage destination in the same post. Very oily oil and water. Pilgrims and priests have been living in or traveling to Montserrat for over 1000 years. 30 monks carry on the spiritual tradition today and they have a famous boy’s choir where the chosen go through two years of training before they are singing in the choir. Arriving in the late afternoon, we went to Basilica for an Evensong in Latin and Catalan and the boys choir. Very inspirational. Afterward we did what pilgrims have done for 100’s of years, we queued up to touch the orb of the Black Madonna at the peak of the front of the Basilica.
Tradition states that Luke carved this of Mary, mother of Christ, then gave it to Peter, who brought it to Spain. Carbon dating and the fact that it is Byzantine in convention place it more around 800AD, not 50AD. A good story none the less. She is protected by a glass cylinder with the orb poking through. When it is your turn, you are to touch the orb with your left hand and raise your right to indicate you follow Christ. When it was my turn, I touched the orb, but forgot to raise my right hand. (Kinda nervous in front of the Holy Virgin). Fortunately, if you mess up, it doesn’t undo what you have already done. (I think)
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