Santa Maria de Montserrat Basilica

As what one might expect for basilicas, the Santa Maria de Montserrat Basilica is certainly a fitting place to house the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. She is the patron saint of Catalonia and she is very much loved by the people here. Judging by the continuous stream of people queuing up at the right of the basilica, it doesn’t seem the she will lose popularity soon. A closer look at the altar area reveals details which I didn’t notice before. For one thing, there doesn’t seem to be any light filtering through the dome. I thought they looked like stained glass windows but maybe it is blocked by another building behind it. Right at the center there is a small chamber where the image of the Virgin of Montserrat is enshrined. I just realized where we came from and thought that it is not everyday that I get to go to that part of a church.

The altar area is also quite interesting as what appears to be the choir is also positioned here. Maybe it is used by priests when there are a large number of priests celebrating the mass. But the presence of the pipe organs here seem to imply that this place was used primarily by the choir. Incidentally, the choir here at the basilica is also quite well known. It is a shame I don’t get to hear them in action. Maybe I would have to wait for a special occasion, perhaps an Easter celebration?

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/Montserrat.kmz} zoom=19]