A view of the Basilica of Montserrat at the Monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-06-09T05:07:18Z<\/p>\n
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV<\/a><\/span> 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\u2019s famous Sagrada Familia Basilica.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But for many Catholics watching from afar \u2014 and especially non-Catholics \u2014 the highlight of the Chicago-born pope\u2019s<\/a><\/span> seven-day trip to Spain will be his evening Mass at the Sagrada Familia \u2014 the Basilica of the Holy Family \u2014 commemorating the centennial of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaud\u00ed. Leo will speak almost exclusively Spanish on the trip, with some comments in Catalan.<\/p>\n 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<\/a><\/span> than believers. Yet the two sites share a connection even some locals don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n