Church

60 years ago they sank a thousand-year-old church in a reservoir in Barcelona. Only the drought has brought it back to the surface

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He Sau swampin the Osona region (Barcelona), has a surprise: when the drought hits, lowering the level of the reservoir enough, it reveals a superb stone bell tower that has been submerged since 1962. The tower belongs to Sant Romà de Sau, a Romanesque church from the 11th century that the Franco regime sank (normally up to 23 meters deep) to supply water to Barcelona In fact, during the pressing crisis of 2023, the drought left it completely grounded, as NASA photographed from spaceThe fact that it is more than a thousand years old and still standing even though it lives submerged is commendable, but it is also the oldest church in the world that is still standing in water. according to the Official World Record. Once upon a church (and a town) submerged in a swamp. More specifically, the church of Sant Romà de Sau is in the Lombard Romanesque style and was consecrated in the year 1061. It was originally built with a single nave oriented from east to west and with a square bell tower three-story semi-detachedprecisely the one that can be seen when there is drought. The church that It is normally submerged at a depth of 23 meters It is not exactly the original: it has been accumulating interventions, such as a reform and expansion after the damage of an earthquake or a remodeling in the 19th century, when the apse was demolished and the orientation of the temple was changed. The bell tower is the vestige of what was once there: the church of a town that was also submerged. The settlement of Sant Romà data 917. Before the water level rose and flooded everything, there they lived 300 inhabitants in the middle of the 20th century who were dedicated to agriculture, livestock and forestry. That of Sant Romà is another story of towns submerged after the execution of the hydraulic project, which led to the expropriation of homes and agricultural farms, its inhabitants had to leave their home without taking part in the matter or receiving compensation. Context. The water that reaches the Catalan capital comes mainly from the Ter and Llobregat rivers through a network of reservoirs. In the case of the Ter, specifically the reservoirs of Sau and those of Susqueda and Pastry. The metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona suffered significant demographic growth during Franco’s development, so the infrastructure was no longer adequate. The construction of the reservoir falls precisely within those years, although the original project goes back to 1931 and the works did not begin until 1942. As the professor and director of the Department of History at the University of Santiago de Compostela Daniel Lanero explains to Newtral.es, what the Franco regime did was “give continuity to the hydraulic policy that had been put into practice since the end of the 19th century.” Beatriz García, professor of contemporary history at the University of León, explains the two bases of this water resources management policy: general plan of irrigation canals and swamps of 1902 and the national hydraulic works plan approved in the Second Republic. Why is it important. That this church breaks conservation records in such complicated conditions does not mean that it is eternal: in 1999 it was already had to be restored after decades under water due to the weakness of its structure. In any case, the church of Sant Romà de Sau is a clear example of the “submerged heritage“, a category in which archeology and cultural law have been trying to regulate for decades. without much success. The sinking of Sant Romà and its church is not an isolated case but a common practice of the Franco regime: the construction of reservoirs during the dictatorship led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people from their towns in a traumatic process of forced displacement of rooted places for its population. In the Spanish state alone there are about 500 towns that were swallowed up by the water due to the construction of dams and reservoirs. In Xataka | In World War II, a town in Lithuania buried its bell to protect it from the Nazis. They did not find it until 2024 In Xataka | For 60 years, a farmer with no idea about architecture built a cathedral from scratch in Madrid. The bureaucracy has closed it Cover | joan ggk and Quico Llach

Evangelism has been leading a revolution in Madrid for years. Now he has turned the Metropolitan into a huge church

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evangelism build muscle in Madrid. The weekend tens of thousands of people gathered at the Riyadh Air Metropolitan stadium to participate in The Change 2026a Christian event that had its first edition in August 2023 at the Benfica da Luz stadium (Lisbon) and revolves around gospel, prayer and evangelization. The event is important not only for its content or participants, which includes the footballer Daniel Alves. It is above all because it connects with other manifestations recent and multitudinous Christianity. What matters, but even more so when and where. What is The Change 2026? A Christian macro event held this weekend in Madrid. Its highlight came on Saturday, when a massive event was organized at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium (Atletico’s field) which, according to organizers’ calculations, was attended by more than 35,000 people. In the website from The Change details that the first event of these characteristics took place in 2023, in Lisbon, and has already attracted thousands of people. At its genesis is the Rodrigues Pereira Association, an organization promoted by the preacher of the same name. Tickets to the event were freealthough they required prior registration and the organization accepted donations. Why is it important? Its attendance data is interesting in itself, but if there is a reason that explains the curiosity that The Change has aroused (and the comments that it has generated in networks) is that it connects with other much broader trends. The main one, the celebration of massive religious events in Madrid. We had the best example beginning of 2026when the city hosted two events almost simultaneously that had thousands of attendees. He January 10 Vistalegre served as the setting for a concert by Kahuna Group Music, a Catholic group that brought together thousands of people. On the same dates, the Movistar Arena hosted the prayer meeting Callswhich had Alpha España among its organizers and had the evangelical group Hillsong as the opening act. They were not two isolated cases. In April some 85,000 people They participated again in the fourth edition of the Festival of the Resurrection, organized by the Catholic Association of Propagandists and which once again featured Hakuna. Catholics and/or evangelists? It is not a minor issue. The Change vindicate that their event “is not the fruit of a single organization”, but “the heartbeat of a united church, with the same feeling.” The Catholic Church, however, has distanced itself from the event held this Saturday at the Metropolitan. In fact, on March 12, the Archdiocese of Madrid sent a statement brief and firm in which he made it clear that it had nothing to do with The Change. “This initiative is being promoted in our diocese by people outside it, in collaboration with a priest and an association led by a Portuguese evangelical pastor,” pointed out the Madrid Catholic Church, which clarified in passing that it was only informed of the event “when it had already been called.” “Consequently, the Archdiocese of Madrid does not consider itself linked to this event and regrets the call for activities of this nature in its jurisdiction without the necessary coordination with diocesan pastoral care.” Is it an important detail? Yes. Because it connects with a broader phenomenon that transcends the event held this weekend at the Metropolitano. Beyond the rise of Christianity (a trend that studies do not always support: some suggest a growing interest in the spiritual, rather than in orthodoxy), The Change or Llamados show a change in the way of expressing faith. A shift that also pivots towards a form of collective prayer and celebration centered on pop music, rock, big screens and collective prayers, manifestations far from the liturgy of more traditional Catholicism. Is it something new? No. The change comes from years back and it has not been without debate. The Online School of Apologetics has published, for example a list of “twelve reasons why it is not good to listen to Protestant music” and in 2011 the website Religion in Freedom he was wondering Whether Catholics should take note of the evangelists’ use of music. All this, between the controversy by Hillsong. In recent days, voices uncomfortable with the Metropolitan event have also emerged. One of the clearest is Universitarios Católicos (almost 132,000 followers on X), which took advantage of the weekend event to remember the rise of evangelism in the Community of Madrid. “One of the consequences of mass immigration: the loss of our Catholic identity,” concludes. Religion in Freedom assures that, although on Saturday people linked to the Catholic Church or Charismatic Renewal of Madrid could be seen in the stadium, the vast majority of attendees were not linked to the Church of Rome. Specifically, the media estimates that if in the event held in 2023 in Lisbon Catholics represented 25% of the public, in the case of Madrid they were 10%. What was seen in The Change? The event revolved around gospel, corporate prayer and preaching. Among the participants, names stood out such as Rodrigues Pereira or Dani Alves, former footballer for FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team sentenced to four and a half years in prison (sentence later revoked by the Superior Court of Justice) for a violation. From that same thing, from his experience in prison, Alves spoke before the thousands of people gathered at the Metropolitano. “I was in prison for 14 months, but there Christ set me free. I have lost everything, but by losing everything I found Jesus.” Is it just religion? No. It’s culture. And demographics. Events like Saturday’s may grab headlines, but they are rooted in a much more important… and silent reality: over the last few years, evangelism has been expanding throughout Madrid, coinciding with the increase in Latin American migration. The Observatory of Religious Pluralism in Spain recorded a few months ago 834 places dedicated to evangelical worship in the region, which made it the minority confession with the greatest presence, ahead of Muslims. The phenomenon, very visible in the polygons where new … Read more

We believed that Generation Z was returning en masse to the Church. An error in a survey is to blame for the mirage

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Stadiums vibrating with thousands of twenty-somethings raising their arms, eyes closed, singing to god. International pop stars posing in nun’s habits on the covers of their most anticipated albums. And, as a backdrop, an incessant barrage of headlines announcing the unthinkable: the massive return of the youth to the church pews. Over the past few months, the world seemed to witness a fascinating twist in the script. Generation Z, the most secular and secularized demographic cohort in history, was re-embracing Christianity. However, when you scratch the surface of this apparent spiritual awakening, what emerges is not a collective epiphany, but a trap. A gigantic demoscopic mirage. What they sold us as the great rebirth of faith is, in reality, a monumental miscalculation where the armies of artificial intelligence, the mischief of paid online surveys and the desire to believe in a revival have completely distorted the true—and much more complex—religious transformation of young people. We believed that faith was returning to the streets, but the fault was in the method. The spark that ignited the narrative of the great Christian revival jumped in the United Kingdom with the publication of the report The Quiet Revivalcommissioned by the Bible Society. Based on survey data YouGov, The study showed a spectacular figure: monthly church attendance among English and Welsh young people aged 18 to 24 had quadrupled, going from a marginal 4% in 2018 to a resounding 16% in 2024. The news spread like wildfire. Entire dioceses held conferences to “turn up the volume” on this revival, and politicians in the British Parliament used the report as proof that “Christianity is neither oppressed nor decayed,” as reported by BBC. However, demographic experts were quick to raise alarm bells. Surveys considered the “gold standard” of sociology for using random probability samples—such as the British Social Attitudes wave Labor Force Survey— showed a diametrically opposite film. According to these rigorous metersthe percentage of practicing Christians between 18 and 34 years old had not only not risen, but had fallen from 8% in 2018 to 6% in 2024. The danger of surveys opt-in If young people are not filling the churches, where do the miracle figures come from? The answer lies in the architecture of the internet itself. The report of the Bible Society was based on surveys opt-inthat is, panels where users voluntarily register in exchange for financial rewards or points. Demographer Conrad Hackett warns that this format suffers an “existential threat.” Those who respond to these surveys usually seek to maximize your profits filling out questionnaires at full speed, lying about their age to access more surveys, or using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) from other countries to get paid in hard currency. Worse still, Artificial Intelligence has come into play. The researchers have detected armies of chatbots programmed to imitate humans and fill out surveys en masse. The fake young people in these polls are so unreliable that, in similar studies carried out in the USA12% of those surveyed opt-in under 30 years old even stated that he had a license to pilot a nuclear submarine. The “great awakening” was largely an algorithmic hallucination. The situation in our land In Spain, the optical illusion is similar. Phenomena like Hakuna Group Music They managed to bring together 12,000 young people at the Vistalegre Palace, while events such as Calls They gathered 6,000 people at the Movistar Arena. Both are betting on Contemporary Worship Music (CWM), an evangelization format of Protestant and evangelical heritage, full of giant screens, pop-rock and raw emotions. But the noise of the stadiums clashes head-on with the silence of the parishes. The comparison of the official reports of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) is devastating. If we analyze the transition from the previous exercises to the most recent data, the fall of the sacraments is an undeniable constant: Baptisms: They fell from 152,426 registered in 2023 at 146,370 in 2024which represents a year-on-year decrease of 3.97%. The magnitude of the collapse is better understood if we look in the rearview mirror: in 2007the Church celebrated no less than 325,271 baptisms annually. Communions and weddings: Inertia drags the rest of the life cycle. First communions fell by almost 5% (standing at 154,677), and Catholic marriages fell by 6%, remaining at a reduced 31,462 ecclesiastical unions. Institutional collapse has other profound social consequences. Given the collapse of baptismal prayers, more than 150 Spanish town councils now offer “civil baptisms” or lay welcome ceremonies to celebrate the arrival of newborns. At the same time, the bleeding of vocations has left Spain with only 15,285 priests, whose average age is around a worrying 65 years. The problem It’s so pressing that has forced bishoprics like that of Tui-Vigo to make lay women official to lead “Celebrations of the Word” in the villages in the face of the total lack of priests. The only discordant note—the small statistical lifeline to which the Church clings—is the baptism of children over 7 years of age. This figure experienced a reboundrising from 11,835 in 2023 to 13,323 in 2024. A figure that suggests a paradigm shift in Spanish Catholicism: conversions that are much more thoughtful, personal and less conditioned by “cultural” inertia. The great gap between Spirituality and Religion To understand Generation Z in Spain, two concepts must be drastically separated: the Catholic institution and the search for the transcendent. Here comes into play what my partner in Xataka defined as: “The 29-59% paradox.” According to the Barometer on Religion and Beliefs in Spain (BREC) of 202561% of young people between 18 and 24 years old declare themselves indifferent, agnostic or atheist. Only 29% define themselves as Catholic, a figure much lower than the 46% national average. However, just because they don’t set foot in a church doesn’t mean they are pure materialists. That same report reveals that 59% of young people firmly believe in the existence of the soul and 45% in “energies.” As the sociologist Mar Griera explainswe are not facing a return to dogma, … Read more

Young people have become more spiritual than the average in Spain. The problem for the Church is that no more Catholics

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Religion is the great terrain of certainties, but if what we are talking about is religion and youth ‘certainty’ is precisely what is in short supply. With the country talking about Rosalía dressed as a nun and the resurgence of the Catholicism among Generation Z, a new study prepared by a foundation linked to the State provides an alternative perspective: indeed, young Spaniards are more spiritual than the country average, but no more Catholics. In fact, the percentage of those who define themselves as such is much lower than the average for society as a whole. More religious, perhaps; but… The religion that Rome is looking for? What has happened? that the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundationan organization linked to the Ministry of the Presidency, has prepared a study on religion that leaves a few interesting conclusions. The main one (perhaps) is the one that suggests that to talk about religiosity and youth we increasingly need to resort more to nuances and less to pure colors. From black and white, we move to gray. At the moment the foundation has not published the full report, prepared after conducting 4,712 online interviews, but we can get an idea of ​​its content thanks to a progress published exclusively this weekend by The Country. What does the study say? To understand it, it is good to review a few figures. The first, the percentage of Spaniards who define themselves as religious believers. If we talk about the general population, this figure stands at 49%. In 46%, if we focus only on the Catholic faith. Things change when we examine the population by age and look especially at the youngest cohorts. Between 25 and 34 years old, only 31% of the population declares themselves Catholic and in the 18 to 24 year old segment the figure is even lower, 29%. What’s more, in the younger sector the mark of atheism, agnosticism or indifference towards religion stands out. Also the few people who pray or attend religious services. Do young people believe less? Depends. In fact, that is where the nuances that complicate the photo begin. The study shows that the percentage of young people aged 18 to 24 who define themselves as Catholic is lower than that of the population as a whole (29% compared to 46%), but that does not mean that they have turned their backs on religiosity. On the contrary. The report suggests that they have a strong spiritual streak, although one that is likely to raise eyebrows at Spanish Episcopal Confederation (CEE) or to any defender of traditional Catholic dogma. Why is that? Perhaps they are the least frequently defined as Catholic, but according to the information advanced by The Country Young people are the ones who most believe in the existence of “some kind of spiritual reality or life force.” Those between 18 and 24 years old are in fact the age group most convinced of the existence of a soul (59%), the one who most believes in life after death (40%), astrology (29%), clairvoyance (23%) or the “energies” that operate in our world (45%). Young people are also those who show the most interest in tarots (23%). They do it so much that their percentage exceeds that of young people who read the Bible. Spain, a religious country? Tapping the religiosity of a country is not an easy task. Not at least in Spain. A Google search arrives to find different studies that emphasize one detail or another. The study of the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation (FPC) contrasts in fact with another published a few months ago by the CIS, which pointed out that the percentage of Spaniards who declare themselves Catholic around 52.8% (17.3% practicing and 35.5% non-practicing). Within the survey itself advanced by The Country There are apparent contradictions, such as that in Spain there are fewer monotheists (37%) than Catholics (46%). Does context matter? A lot. The study is interesting for what it says, but also for when it says it. It comes in the midst of a debate on the resurgence of faith among Generation Z and “green shoots” of religiosity, with Rosalía (and other artists) throwing winks at Catholicism, Hakuna moving crowds and the Church boasting of gathering together more than 20,000 young people at the Jubilee in Rome. And the truth is that there are signs that speak of change. Although if we analyze the data from recent decades we can see a secularization of Spanish society, in recent years the percentage of young people who declare themselves practicing Catholics has grown several points. In the 18 to 24 year old cohort, the proportion of believers who acknowledge never or almost never attending religious services, even has gone down. There are those who warn, however, that behind these figures there could be a “paradox”: “There are fewer people who believe, but among those who believe, more explicit forms of practices increase.” reflect Víctor Albert-Blanco, sociologist. Other authors even believe that winks like Rosalía’s are the result of the “deregulation of religious symbology” in a more secularized country. Does the study say anything else? Yes. And its conclusions are unflattering for those who want a return to Catholicism. For its report, the FPC asked those interviewed “what gives a lot or a lot of meaning to your life?”, focusing on eight different aspects. The most popular response was family (90%), followed by friendships (79%), personal growth (78%) and nature (71%). At the opposite end of the list is “religion or spirituality”, with only 31%. In fact, the percentage is lower than that of those who pointed out pets (47%) or social activism (36%). The picture is (even) clearer if we talk about the youngest population cohort, those between 18 and 24 years old. In that case, only 15% point to religion as a source of inspiration, almost four times less than those who claim that pets are what give meaning to their lives. Images | Vick Bufano (Unsplash) and British Province of Carmelites … Read more

be the tallest church in the world

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that the Holy Family It is an architectural jewel, there is little doubt. Which is one of the great icons of Barcelona and one of the obligatory stops for tourists who come to the city, either, as attested by the 4.8 million of visitors it received last year. Now Antoni Gaudí’s temple will be able to boast an added merit: being the highest church of the entire planet, a brand that has just been snatched from the Ulm Cathedral, which held that record since 1890. The key: a little big growth of its central tower. What has happened? That the world ranking of mega constructions has undergone an important change. Above all because of its symbolism for Barcelona, ​​Catalonia and Spain as a whole. Yesterday, almost on the eve of All Saints’ Day, those responsible for the works of the Sagrada Familia they hoisted a piece of the ‘Tower of Jesus Christ’ that has raised the height of the temple to almost 163 m. If the fact were not surprising in itself, it comes accompanied by a surprise for lovers of world records: it has turned the Catalan temple into the tallest church in the world, a merit that has been taken away from Ulm Cathedral. Why’s that? What the temple has just incorporated is part of the cross of the ‘Tower of Jesus Christ’, a centerpiece of the Sagrada Familia. More specifically what they installed on thursday The operators with a crane is the lower arm of the cross (7.25 m and 24 tons), which had arrived in July divided into four panels. Those responsible for the project detail that the piece has a double-turn geometry, a square shape at the base, octagonal at the top and a coating of white glazed ceramic and glass, materials chosen for their “luminosity and resistance to atmospheric conditions.” “Once completed, the cross will have a total height of 17 m, equivalent to a five-story building, and a width of 13.5 m,” they clarify. Why is it important? The Sagrada Familia takes almost a century and a half being built, an extensive period full of ups and downs and marked by milestones such as the death of the father of the project, the architect Antoni Gaudi (1926), the Civil War or the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout this vast chronicle, the works have celebrated important milestones, but Thursday’s is especially symbolic. The reason? How has he been in charge of remember the Archdiocesan Church of Barcelona, ​​the new piece raises the glonal height of the temple to 162.91 meters. It is expected that in the next few monthsas the works are completed, the ‘Tower of Jesus Christ’ will take another growth spurt until reach 172 mbut the current mark has already been enough to turn the Sagrada Familia into a record building. And who had the record? Right now the tallest church in the world (recognized by Guinness World Records) is the Ulm Cathedrala Lutheran church located in Baden-Württemberg (Germany), built in several phases between 1377 and 1890 and which has a spire that reaches a height of 161.5 m. The difference with the Catalan temple is still minimal, but that will likely change in the coming months as the tower is completed. In summer the temple already conquered another milestone, also thanks to the pinnacle: it surpassed the Mapfre Tower and Hotel Arts and became the largest building from Barcelona. Its construction is possible thanks largely to the money that visitors pay to visit the temple. Last year the 4.8 million of visitors, 2.7% more than in 2023 and even above pre-covid data. Images | Holy Family 1 and 2 In Xataka | Gaudí planned a heavenly staircase for the Sagrada Familia. Fulfilling the project implies expropriating the neighbors

The Church has been trying to connect with young people for years. Now he has his best asset: the first Millennial Holy

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The Millennials They already have their own representative in the Book of Saints of the Catholic Church. Yesterday, during one massive ceremony held in the Plaza de San Pedro, Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo Acutisa young Italian who died in 2006 with only 15 years. The fascination generated by the figure of Acutis arrives at a particularly delicate moment for Rome, which has seen how in recent years it grew disaffection Between the Church and European young people. The new “Millennial Holy” offers you a unique opportunity to reconnect with them. There are also those who have seen another opportunity: the black relic market. What happened? That the Catholic Church already has its first saint Millennial: Carlo Acutisan Italian who died in 2006, with just 15 years, victim of a fulminating leukemia. His canonization is no surprise. Although the process that has culminated with its sanctification has been surprisingly fast, its inscription has long since been more than sitting. The gears for their canonization were activated in 2012, seven years later his body was exhumed (With debate included about the “incorruption” of the body) and in 2020 Pope Francis Beatified. Since then, the procedures of the Dicastery of the Causes of the Saints have advanced at an unusual speed. Moreover, his proclamation was expected to Last Aprilcoinciding with the jubilee of adolescents, but the death of Bergoglio disrupted those plans. Who was Carlo Acutis? A young Italian. Nothing else. Nothing less. And it is that apparent simplicity that explains that it has become such a relevant figure for Rome. Having been born in 1991 Acutis is in theory the first saint of The Millenial cohort“. In fact, it is presented again and again In the international press, as “the first ‘millennial’”. If that were not enough to do so, Acutis showed another peculiarity: it was another boy of his time, with hobbies and a style that he would not disregard that of any young man of the 2000s. In recent years, Acutis has been presented as a young ‘normal and current’ who breaks with the image that usually accompanies holiness: he liked football, playing with the playstation, setting videos with his friends and seemed to feel a inclination for computer science. So much so that it is said that he used his programming knowledge, acquired thanks to the reading of manuals, to elaborate several websites for altruistic purposes, including one dedicated to List miracles. In which it is probably the maximum reaffirmation of that ‘normal’ character, as a person of his time, Acutis’s body rests after a glazed sepulcher in the church of Santa María la MayorAssisi, dressed in a blue sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. No robes or ceremonial clothes. Why is it important? Because perhaps because of its history, its appearance or mixture of both Acutis has become a specially interesting figure for Rome. To begin with an out of the ordinary interest. It is said that throughout the last year One million pilgrims They have visited their grave in Assisi, a figure that slides The Wall Street Journalcould be overcome this year. Another proof of his enormous popularity is that yesterday Pope Leo XIV not only canonized him. In the same ceremony, holy was consecrated to Pier Giorgio Frassatianother young activist who died in 1925 with only 24 years. His name has been eclipsed by the mass phenomenon of “First saint ‘millennial’ “. “What is happening with Carlo is difficult to explain. It is something that far exceeds our expectations,” Recognize The Bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino. That devotion was evident since soon, in 2006, during his funeral. Are there more reasons? Yes. Acutis was not only a Millennial for its date of birth. The stories about his life insist that he shared the hobbies of most young people of his age, such as sport, technology or video games, tastes that combined with his religious devotion. “I was going to Mass and prayed the rosary every day,” His mother tellsAntonia Salzano. “We lived in the center of Milan, in a building surrounded by beggars. He wanted to help them, talk to them, bring them food and blankets.” In recent years It has not lacked Who warns that the image built around Acutis is forced and ensures that the young man did not like football or preferred the sports moccasins that we wear in his grave. Is that relevant? Yes it is. Acutis is a breath of air, an oxygen ball for a Catholic church that has seen how the secularism gap grew over the last years, especially among young people. At least in part of the world. In June Funcas published A studybased on data from the European Social Survey, which shows that last year only 32% of the population between 18 and 29 years was identified as Catholic. If we look at just two decades, 2002, that percentage was almost double, around 60%. It is not the only example of that growing disaffection. Another recent report Fundació Ferrer I Guàrdia points out that almost 60% of Spaniards under 44 are declared non -religious. In other European countries the situation is not very different. Recently the University of St Mary’s in London did A poll Between different countries of the continent and found that in large part of them the percentage of young adults without religion was approaching or already exceeded 50%. Yesterday, hardly the ceremony held in Rome, Leo XIV recognized Feeling “cheerful” of seeing “so many young people” and insisted on pointing to Carlo (and Frassati) as models to follow for the new generations. “They are an invitation for all of us, especially for young people, not to waste our lives, but to direct them to the top,” proclaimed The Supreme Pontiff at a time when Spanish seminars suffer A historical drought of vocations. To further reinforce their image, there are those who already refer to Acutis as “God’s influencer “ either “Internet patron saint”an honor that isor Isidoro of Seville. Does the Church interest … Read more

The Church faces the challenge of a future without priests. At the moment he already knows how to allow women to give “Mass”

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Almudena Suárez Treviño is a woman of Mass. Although not in the conventional sense of expression. She not only goes to the church of her people to listen to the priest on duty, give peace to the rest of parishioners and commune in the Eucharist. No. In addition to all that Almudena officiates religious celebrations in Catholic temples. Almost (almost) as if it were a parish priest. So much so that the bishopric of Tui-Vigo He just ratified it officially in its functions. Your case, enough less exceptional of what it seems, it is actually the finding of a much greater phenomenon: the Vocations crisis. What happened? That the bishop of Tui-Vigo has just published a APPOINTMENT LIST Officers, a kind of internal adjustment in the diocese to “alleviate the current deficiencies of attention “that causes the shortage of priests. Until there nothing weird. Nor does anything that can arouse interest beyond the affected villages. The striking, which has aroused the interest of the parishioners and means of the rest of the community and Spain (including the Galician television), is that this list of priests closes with the name of a woman: Almudena Suárez. And not just that. He Official document Proclamation for those who want to read it that this woman is authorized to direct “the celebration of the word” in seven parishes of the arciprest of Louriña (Pontevedra) as long as its presbyter is not. Actually the announcement of the bishop of Tui-Vigo is a ratification because Almudena has been having an out of the common role in his parishes. So much, in fact, that three years ago Vigo lighthouse He already dedicated him A report. Click on the image to go to Tweet. A cure woman? No. Almudena is not a priest. It is really Biologist and theologianhas a title of religious sciences, a master’s degree and at least until a few years ago she exercised as a religion teacher in an Institute in Pontevedra. That is your professional curriculum, your presentation sheet. 21 years ago, however, one of his theology professors proposed to embark on “An innovative project”an adventure that in practice would lead him to be more than a simple parishioner. What Almudena did was get involved in the Diocesan assemblies in the absence of presbyters in the Galician rural. With the approval of who then act as a bishop in the diocese of Tui-Vigo (a decision that his successors have maintained) assumed a responsibility that basically allows the parishes in the area to become more bearable the shortage of priests and the lack of vocations. But Masses officiate? No. Sundays Almudena go to a series of churches, it is located before the rest of parishioners, read, preach and fulfill in some way the role that a pastor should play, but does not officiate a liturgy. What it does has another name: word celebration. “We arrived, we meet and the first part of the celebration, which is called the word liturgy, is exactly the same as in a mass. We ask for forgiveness, the reading is done, I proclaim the gospel and preach,” Explain to The voice. “We profess faith, pray the creed and do the requests.” That does not mean that it is a kind of priestess or that it takes care of the same rites as a priest. “I want to make it clear that I don’t trade masses”, insists The woman before clarifying that when it comes to communing she is only responsible for distributing the hosts that a pastor has previously consecrated, a task that the Church does not allow her to assume. By providing that service Almudena facilitates life to the priest in charge of the seven villages, serving as support. The two alternate on Sundays in the churches, so that a week the parishioners have Mass and the following, celebration. How do she carry it? Initially he confesses that it was difficult to take pass through his family’s misgivings to “how people would respond.” After spinning, however, he decided to accept the offer and assume a new role in the diocese. “I thought it was a good opportunity, since we are always complaining about women that they do not give us power in the church. I thought it could be good for all of us,” confesses. “In the end I threw myself into the pool and it was as if I touched the lottery.” It makes that more than 20 years, a period during which it has gone through different places where assures having encountered the acceptance and “affection” of the parishioners. “I was the first and I am the only one with appointment (from the bishopric of Tui-Vigo). I have it since 2004. What happens is that this time it has been more evident because, for the first time, breaking glass roofs, the appointment was published on the Bishopric website,” he celebrates. Is it a unique case? No. The role of Almudena may not be common in southern Galicia, but if we expand the focus to the rest of Spain we verify that there are more lay people who exert the same function as her. Including women too. In 2018 The voice revealed Also that to the north of the community, in Outes, there was a group of neighbors who were responsible for ceremonies before the shortage of priests. “It is not the Mass of women, as they say, they are women who make the Sunday celebration for the entire community,” I clarified The parish priest. There are also examples in Burgos, Tarragona either Lionamong other points of The emptied Spain. “The priests in charge, generally, of a good number of rural parishes, cannot go every Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist in all of them, so they sometimes have a lay or religious who, on Sundays in which the pastor is absent, goes to direct ‘the celebration of the word’”, They explain from the archdiocese of Oviedo. The Catholic Church in fact offers Formations for laity. A … Read more

The walls of a medieval church of Álava hid figures of wild boars, turkeys and discs. No one knows what they do there

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Cruces, Statues of saints, fresh with biblical scenes, representations of the Virgin Mary or the apostles, even devil figures twisting. Within a church one expects to find a wide range of Christian imagery, but when A few years ago Historians began to clean the oldest wall of The Church of ArbuloIn Álava, they found something very different. Under layers and layers of lime and paint began to appear something other: figures of the 12th century that show mysterious quadrupeds with claws, faced birds and wheels. Now the experts They wonder What the hell do they mean. In a place in Álava … More specifically in Arbulo, in the municipality of Elburghe stands An ancient church in honor of San Martín de Tours. Most of the temple we see today rose between End of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the XVI, but its builders left the remains of a previous building, from the Romanesque era. Despite its historical value over time the Church ended in a dilapidated state. At the end of the XX its roof deteriorated and began to leak water through the vaults, which among other things ended up the furniture. Rescue Restorers. The temple situation was so critical that it was closed Between 1999 and 2008 and by 2004 a restoration was launched that included the disenchanted of the walls. The specialists had good reasons to do so. As remember Historian Gorka López de Munain, from the University of the Basque Country (UPV), moisture forced to remove the altarpiece and disagree with the walls of the apse, which left the layers of paint accumulated over the centuries, including what seemed “strange motifs of reddish hue.” What kind of paintings? The experts appreciated several layers on the walls, but there was a specific one that caught so much the attention of López de Munain that he decided to dedicate A broad article in Of half avo. Which? The first, located in the Apsid wall and that in the absence of more detailed analysis the researcher date between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, so it is associated with the primitive Romanesque temple. Today we know that their author (or authors) traced them using ocher pigments mixed with binder and that they did not remain too exposed. Before the XV they were already covered with a new layer of lime. And the big surprise arrived. The most curious thing is not, however, with what pigments were prepared, but what they were used for. In a Christian temple one would expect to meet symbols associated with that creed: crosses, representations of Christ and the Virgin, biblical scenes … not on the wall of the Church of Arbulo. Over there, In words of the UPV teacher, what appeared were representations of animals and geometric shapes “in a seemingly random disposition.” In a wide surface, of just over 24 square meters (m2), experts found remains that at origin had to decorate the head of the primitive church and have bullow the curiosity and imagination of historians. “In this first layer, reasons of great variety and formal wealth were painted: swine -siled quadr The article of Of half avowhich recognizes that the figures of the absidal wall of the Church of Arbulu “do not respond to the best known repertoires of their time.” “Something unexpected”. López de Munain is not the only one to which the images of the temple have surprised. In 2018, in An interview With eitb.eus, Isabel Mellén, of the project ‘Medieval Álava’, I recognized His enthusiasm. “What was painted, in our eyes, is something unexpected. What we hope to find in a church are religious paintings, with Christian scenes or symbology, but what is shown in Arbulo has nothing to do with all that,” collects the analysis of the Basque chain. Instead of pantocradors or crosses What they show The walls of the temple with thick strokes and reddish tones are beasts: birds, animals with pigs or wild boars, discs with radios, asterisk shape of lis flowers drawn with basic and rough lines … a peculiar iconography that leaves a question as fascinating as difficult to answer: What do you mean exactly? Questioning the story. From the outset and after clarifying how difficult it is to interrogate the images in search of meanings with the eyes of the 21st century, the researcher slides an idea: at least part of the figures seem to reveal a funeral connotation. For example, among the images rescued in Arbulo there are real turkeys, a recurring theme throughout the Middle Ages, loaded with polysemy and has been used regularly in mortuary contexts. “The fated birds painted in Arbulu inevitably evoke those that drink together of a crater or peck a cluster of grapes, common in the steles and romantic and very frequent tombst Point out The Basque researcher, who recognizes in any case that in the images of Arbulu the birds do not appear with other icons, such as drinks, so “its nature is difficult to identify” and “elusive”. Are there more meanings? Yes. In his analysis the researcher pays attention to other elements that have emerged on the Arbulu wall, such as eight radios albums. “Those wheels or radiated stars appear frequently in the discoude steles of both the Basque Country and of nearby regions,” Slide. Its meaning is also suggestive and invites you to look, rather than consecration crosses, to designs that can often be seen in medieval funeral steles. The tree figures have also led him to slide the hypothesis that they can be linked to the paintings of a historical character, Gastea de Arburu, of Gallic origin but buried in the region. But … why? The big question. Why paint a Christian temple with birds, solar disks and quadrupeds with claws, some with the appearance of wild boars? In An interview with The country López de Munain slides some theories, such as their creators wanted to represent on the walls what they saw in their most immediate environment or … Read more

It was not really a church

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In Jaén they have been convinced for decades that the stones of a site of the old Ibero -Roman city of Cástulo (What is now the town of Linares) formed a Paleochristian church of the fourth century DC, they concluded it in the early 1990s its discoverers and thus continued to believe to this day applying good logic. After all, it is known that at that time there were Christians (and even bishops) in a cástulo, so it is not surprising that they wanted to have their own centers of worship, right? Now a group of archaeologists raises A different theory: And if what we have always seen as a primitive Christian temple really was something else? In a place in Jaén … Cástulo It was an ancient Iberian city that once acted as Capital of Oretania And today shows its ruins a few five kilometers from Linares. There, in the urban heart, in which archaeologists know as “area 1” rest the remains of a basilica -shaped building probably raised in The fourth century DC. We have known him for a long time thanks to the excavations made between 1985 and 1991 by a team that came to a clear conclusion: what they had before them were the remains of an old paleocristian temple of late antiquity. Why did they believe that? They had reasons. Although during their excavations they did not rescue any rest clearly associated with Christianity, archaeologists did know that at that time (towards the fourth century DC) Cástulo hosted a community of faithful. Even the presence of bishops is documented since at least the beginning of that century, something that makes it clear about the minutes of the Elvira council. Its characteristics, context and even the location of the temple inside the cástulo network seemed to support the theory that (effectively) was a church consecrated to Christ. “Taking all that into account, it seemed reasonable to think that the construction of the building was an example of the first Christian cult whose construction was motivated by the beginning of the rise of the Church in the second half of the fourth century DC,” Bautista Ceprián del Castillo, David Expósito and José Carlos Ortega, archaeologists who have published A study About the old temple in VeguetaThe Yearbook of the Faculty of Geography and History of the University of Las Palmas. Sobple matter? At all. That we have been believing that the old building of Jaén is a church of the second half of the fourth century DC does not mean that it is true, no matter how much this assumption seems to fit into history. This has been believed at least Ceprián, Expósito and Ortega, who relying on the excavations made in the place between 2011 and 2021 and especially the debris there have launched An interesting question: And if instead of a Roman church, the old temple, known as “building S”, was actually a synagogue maintained by a Jewish community established in the area around the fourth and v dc centuries New clues, New History. In their article the three archaeologists remember that 40 years ago they were not found in the area “Clear indications” They revealed that the temple was dedicated to Christian cult. What the new excavations have located are clues that point in another direction: “A small, interesting set of elements that refer to the culture and iconography of a Jewish nature.” These pieces, remains of ceramics and decorations, added to other characteristics, such as the location of the temple, is what leads Ceprián and his companions to suggest his theory. “There are certain singularities that alone would not dismant The study concludes After recognizing that “in a first analysis” the theory can be reached that the basilical absidal building was a Christian. What exactly did they find? During the excavations the researchers located three fragments of lucers decorated with the Menorá (Seven arms candelabro), a piece of Tégula in which the same symbol of Judaism is represented (although with five arms) and a revealing piece: remains of a bowl with an inscription in Hebrew that can only be read when placing it face down, which has taken archaeologists to think that it is a lid. What exactly does the text say? It is not easy to decipher it, although experts They slide which could be translated as ‘of forgiveness’, ‘Light of forgiveness’ or even ‘song to David’. Ceramics … and something else. All these pieces helped archaeologists to assemble their theory, but they are not the only arguments on which they support themselves. Another, fundamental, is the location of the building. The ancient temple rose in a separated place, little busy and close to the ruins of Roman hot springs, that the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the time perceived as “the last redoubt of pagan religion.” The reason? In public bathrooms, sculptures of ancient gods used to rise. “Many ecclesiastics would soon begin to consider the hot springs as a new idolatry center and a dangerous place for Christians for their more than probable demonic pollution,” Archaeologists reportwho remember that the rigid sexual moral of the Church already related nudity to “lust and sin.” “Tumulatio Ad Sanctos”. There are two data that further reinforce the theory embodied in the magazine Vegueta. The first is the configuration of the building itself, which as the experts recognize presents a structure that agrees with “the type of basilical absidal plants that will be developed from the fourth century DC in Jewish synagogues.” The second is that the most recent excavations have not revealed burials in the area, in the building or in its surroundings, something that clashes in principle with the Christian conception of the Tumulatio ad sancturesthe desire of the faithful of being buried near the remains of prominent martyrs and religious figures. In fact, where tombs are observed, it is in a nearby Christian baptistery. With what the absence of burials coincides, it is with the rabbinic pattern that states that the graves … Read more

67 years ago Pope Pius XII starred in the most macabre goodbye of the Church. The reason: exploded in full funeral

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Throughout his almost two decades as Pope, Pius XII had to deal with the complex scenario of World War II and The Holocaustwhich has made it A controversial figure. His critics accuse him of having silent before the Nazi extermination. His supporters see in him a strategist who maneuvered to save lives and prevent Hitler’s wrath from being on Christians and Jews. Curiously and After the death of Francisco Ithese days his name is playing for a very different reason: His caulitous funeralthat probably make the burial of Pius XII the most macabre and commented of the long history of the Vatican. After all There are few chronicles that they argue that during their funeral one of the worst things occurred that can happen in such circumstances: his body exploded for the past of the curia and the doctors. Literally. A goodbye with controversy Pius XII had a pontificate convulsive. And very much in spite of (and that of the church) their last days were fogged by the same feeling. Although his agony was not especially long (he felt bad October 6 of 1958 and died only a few days later, on Thursday 9) everything related to his health status became an obsession for the press. So much interested and such was the fight to publish in first the death of the Pope that some media decided to use a first level source: the doctor Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisiwho for decades had been a friend, confidant and personal doctor (Pontifical file) of Pius XII. “In those days the Vatican was extremely hermetic and it would not have occurred to him He remembered in 2005 The journalist Alexander Chancellor. When in 1968 he put himself at the head of the Reuters delegation in Italy, he himself met an old red phone in the office that, as his colleagues explained, had been installed there ten years before to be able to contact Galeazzi-Lisi. The problem is that the doctor turned out to be a source as influential as unreliable and lack of scruples. Over time Galeazzi-Lisi It would end up expelled of the Vatican for allegedly wanting to take advantage of his position at the Holy See while the Pope agonized. To be precise, They accused him to strain a camera in their room to photograph the dying and then sell the material. The reward was juicy. ABC remember that there were magazines and editorials that offered him $ 3,200 for the snapshots and another 20,000 for his story. It was not the only thing that the doctor was accused. From Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, it is also said that he promised to give a journalist’s death exclusively. The pact was allegedly that when Pius XII had gone to better life, the doctor would open a window of the papal residence. With what they did not tell, neither the doctor nor the press was that the heat of the Roman October took a nun to open that same window to ventilate the building, which led the reporter to misunderstand the signal. Other sources They assure that what Galeazzi-Lisi had committed was to stir a handkerchief and that the journalist confused him with a curtain moved by the wind. Whatever the right version, the truth is that on Wednesday, October 8, when the Pope was Agonizing but still aliveseveral media went out with a news as resounding as false: “Il Papà è Morto”. There were still several hours for Pius XII to die due to a “circulatory disorder.” The news was made public another better doctor, Antonio Gasbarrini. The most curious thing is that the main (and infamous) participation of Galeazzi-Lisi in the last goodbye of Pius XII began just then, after the death of the Pope. A frustrated embalming Although Francisco I simplified Papal funeral In order for the ceremony to look more like that of “a shepherd” than to “a powerful man of this world”, his funeral has made clear once again that the burial of a high pontiff is an unusual event. It is estimated that in just a few days about 250,000 people They passed before the coffin, in the Basilica of San Pedro del Vaticano, to say goodbye to him. In times of Pius XII something similar happened. The body used to stay Exposed for days so that the faithful could transmit their goodbye. And that, of course, required trying to remain preserved in the best possible conditions as much time as possible. The usual thing was that they retired part of the body of the body, but that idea did not seem like Pius XII too much, determined to be buried “As God created it”. In His memoirs Galeazzi-Lisi recounts how to these misgivings he decided to speak to the Pope of a new conservation technique that he had developed with a colleague of Naples, a simple, little invasive method of a mixture of herbs and essential oils. The technique was known as “Aromatic osmosis”it had been prepared by Galeazzi-Lisi with the help of a embalder called Oreste Nuzzi and one of its great advantages was that it barely required to manipulate (or eviscerate) the body of the deceased. It arrived with submerge it in the oil and aromatic herbs preparation and then wrapped it in layers. The doctor assured that the method was similar to that used by the Egyptians in their rites or the one that had been used with Jesus Christ. In his galeazzi-lisi memories even He recounts How he showed Pius XII a hand treated with his mixture. “He was amazed to see his appearance”. Did the Pope accepted that new technique to his body? It is not clear. What seems to be that Galeazzi-Lisi managed to achieve the approval of the Church. The works started on October 10 and priori followed the doctor’s guidelines: the body of the Holy Father was treated with the preparation of herbs and oils and then covered with a kind of cellophane to “conserve volatile aromas and ensure the best … Read more

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