Divina Providència

Monestir de la Mare de Déu de Divina Providència
Built: 1950-1953
Founded: 1834
Function: Monastic church
Address: Albigesos 6

The Monastery of Our Lady of Divine Providence is a mid-twentieth century structure whose architecture – or at least, what one can see of it – hearkens back to earlier times and, in particular, references Assisi on a smaller scale. This is the lesser of the two Poor Clares convents currently existing in Barcelona (the greater being that of the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes, not far away.) It was founded in 1834 as a contemplative community dedicated to reviving the old or “primitive” rule of St. Clare of Assisi. Teresa Arguyol i Fontseca, the foundress of the convent, also founded a school for girls and went on to found two additional convents dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Providence in the nearby cities of Badalona and Mataró.

In 1936, the old convent was torched and completely destroyed by the Leftists at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Because the destruction was so complete, the nuns decided to move out of central Gràcia and up into the then-more northern limits of the city, in the hilly area known as El Putxet. The new church and monastic complex was completed in 1953, and the nuns remain in cloister there today.

One of the nuns in residence at the monastery (sometimes she is incorrectly referred to as the foundress) was Coloma Antònia Martí Valls (1860-1899), renowned for her personal sanctity. Her case was presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1956 by the Archdiocese. In 1996 she was designated a “Servant of God”, and the cause for raising her to the status of “Venerable” is still being investigated.

Sadly, despite exhaustive efforts I have not been able to locate any images of the interior of either the church or the convent, although I know that the public can visit and attend mass here. This is another example of how, unfortunately, religious communities and parishes in Barcelona are not taking full advantage of the possibilities of modern means of communication. Still, it will give me an excuse to drop by on my next visit to the city and see what I can snap for myself.

Sant Eugeni

Església de Sant Eugeni I Papa
Built: 1880-1883
Founded: 1878
Function: Parish church; former hospital chapel
Address: Londres 40

The present Neo-Romanesque parish church dedicated to St. Eugenius I, Pope from 654-657 A.D., was originally the chapel for the Hospital of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The hospital was founded in 1878 by a group of well-to-do Catholic ladies to provide medical care for the poor of the city, free of cost. The institution expanded multiple times in the following decades, until in 1933 it was taken over by the secular Autonomous University of Barcelona. The hospital itself is still in existence today, and is the largest private hospital in the city. In addition to providing medical services it is also the location for the Autonomous University’s medical school.

With the increasing expansion and modernization of the hospital complex next door, the chapel no longer served much of a purpose and it was decided that it should be made independent of the faculty. The parish was formally created in 1945, and the chapel given to it by the Archdiocese. The dedication of the parish to St. Eugenius was made in honor of Pope Pius XII, who was the Pontiff at the time and whose given name was Eugenio Pacelli.

The chapel itself was designed by Jeroni Granell i Barrera, who also designed the original buildings of the hospital. Fortunately, the former hospital chapel did not suffer any damage during the Leftist uprisings of the 20th century, including the Civil War, probably because it was attached to a hospital, and hospitals were needed by both sides to treat the wounded. As a result, much of its charming exterior remains the same.

Here we see the exterior of the church:

And here we see some shots of the interior, decorated for Christmas:

Ermita de Santa Creu d’Olorda

Ermita de Santa Creu d’Olorda
Built: Between 800 – 1000 A.D., with later additions
Founded: Before 986 A.D.
Function: Chapel
Address: Carretera de Sanson s/n

The Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Olorda, a settlement located in the Collserola Mountains which ring the city of Barcelona, is of very ancient and somewhat mysterious origin. Much of the present building is believed to date from between 800-1000 A.D. Subsequent additions to the building in later centuries, as well as the destruction of the Civil War, have had an impact on the appearance of the present structure.

The first documentary evidence for the existence of a chapel on this site is dated 1032 A.D., although the settlement around it is known from an even earlier document. In the year 986 A.D. King Lothar (941-986 A.D.) of the Franks deeded this land to the Monastery of Sant Cugat, just over the other side of the mountain from the former village of Olorda. This fact, in combination with the architectural style of the building leads historians to believe that the hermitage was probably already of considerable age at the time the Frankish King willed the land to the Benedictines.

The present bell tower was added around 1300, and enlarged in the 17th century when a Renaissance front portal was added to the facade. It remained a popular pilgrimage site, but as to when the last hermit was in residence here, no one is quite certain. In the 19th century with the development of the train and tram lines, the area began to grow in population, and the chapel came under the administration of larger parishes nearby, in turn.

By 1915 the chapel came under the authority of the parish of Saint Vincent, the main church in the former village of Sarrià, now one of the more exclusive northern residential districts of Barcelona and under which it remains today. Given its somewhat remote location, it became a popular excursion and picnic post, particularly on religious feast days, when the youth from the local parishes would come here to celebrate mass and participate in games and other activities. Because this was never a highly populated area, following a significant amount of destruction during the Civil War in 1936, the chapel languished for a considerable period of time.

Recently, I am pleased to say, interest in this ancient chapel has seen an increase, and Saint Vincent and two of the other northern parishes have announced that beginning on September 14, 2010, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, appropriately enough, a mass will once again be held in the ancient chapel after many years of remaining closed. If interest is shown, the other parishes will try to see if they can provide sufficient staff to continue to celebrate the mass at the Hermitage on a regular basis.

Here we see a view of the complex in the mountains:

Here we can see some views of the exterior, including the tree-shaded picnic area:

Here is a view of the interior, which was white-washed after the destruction of the Civil War:

And here we can see the throngs of picnic-makers from the 1920′s, visiting the hermitage on a Festival Day:

Sagrat Cor

Església del Sagrat Cor de Jesus
Built: 1883-1889
Founded: 1881
Function: Parish church/school chapel
Address: Casp 27

The Jesuits have always had a close historical attachment to Catalonia, since St. Ignatius of Loyola came to the holy mountain monastery of Our Lady of Montserrat and renounced his secular life in favor of a life of service to God. Indeed, he penned his Spiritual Exercises in the city of Mataró, not far from Barcelona. While the Betlem church on the Ramblas is the largest and most famous of the Jesuit churches in the city, the magnificent church the Jesuits built in the 19th century to the Sacred Heart of Jesus holds a great relic of St. Ignatius’ conversion, as will be explained below.

The domed Sacred Heart or “Sagrat Cor” church on Carrer del Casp should not be confused with the Basilica of the Sacred Heart atop the mountain of Tibidabo, built with the encouragement of St. John Bosco. That structure was intended to be an expiatory temple and pilgrimage site. Rather this Neo-Byzantine church, along with the attached school and the Jesuit residence were a collaborative effort between architects Joan Martorell Montells and Camil Oliveras i Gensana at a time when Barcelona’s residential population was expanding exponentially and needed new Catholic schools and parishes.

Sagrat Cor is one of the very few Barcelona churches that survived anti-Catholic destruction by Leftists during the Civil War in the 1930′s, retaining its original, very richly decorated interior. This reason alone would make it worthy of pilgrimage, particularly among those interested in the more eclectic styles of 19th century architecture and design. Although based in part on Byzantine models, the design also has significant elements of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

When St. Ignatius made his pilgrimage to Montserrat in 1522, as a token of his conversion he left behind his sword before the image of Our Lady of Montserrat. The sword was preserved at the monastery for many years, until it was given to the Jesuits in 1907. It was then subsequently placed into a bronze and crystal reliquary, and set into the altar dedicated to St. Ignatius inside this church, just below the statue of the great Basque saint. This is such an important piece of Jesuit and indeed of world history, as a result of what St. Ignatius’ conversion brought about, that it is surprising that the presence of this amazing relic at this church is not better known.

Here we see some views of the exterior of the church:

Here is the jaw-droppingly decorated interior, looking toward the high altar:

Here is the interior of the dome – an instance where the interior of the dome is infinitely superior to the exterior structure:

And here is the side altar of St. Ignatius Loyola, with the reliquary containing his sword visible below the feet of the statue:

Convent dels Àngels

Convent de la Mare de Déu dels Àngels
Built: 1562-1568
Founded: Before 1473
Function: Art Museum/Arts Foundation; former Dominican convent
Address: Plaça dels Àngels

It is an unfortunate fact that many of the convents and monasteries in the old, historic nucleus of Barcelona did not survive the first wave of Leftist iconoclasm that led to the destruction of these religious communities under Napoleon, and later under secular Spanish governments inspired by his infernal example. Unlike other large cities on the Iberian Peninsula such as Madrid or Seville, the religious orders that exist in Barcelona today are often housed in late 19th or early 20th century buildings, located far from the urban core, rather than in their original locations. The remains of the large convent of Our Lady of the Angels is an example of what happened to a thriving community of Dominican nuns in Barcelona, destroyed within a century thanks to such interference.

The first mention of a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels comes from 1473, when a building under this title is mentioned as existing in the fields outside of the city walls, where the present Ciutadella Park stands. In 1485, this chapel was given into the care of the Dominican sisters, who began to build an enormous convent around the chapel a few years later. Unfortunately, because the site was located well-outside the safety of the city, after numerous encounters with robbers and brigands, by about 1550 it was determined not to be a good place for a group of women to live by themselves.

The solution was provided by the City Council who a few years later turned over to the Dominicans a chapel located on a street known as “The Foot of the Cross”, within the city walls on the western side of old Barcelona. Safe within the city, the Dominicans began to build a new convent of Our Lady of the Angels, creating a large structure that dominates the square of the same name. Architecturally, it is something of a jumble sale, a mix of Late Gothic and Renaissance styles, and one cannot help but wonder what the original, grand building outside the city must have looked like. However, the sisters continued to live here for the next 250 years.

After Napoleon and the later Spanish version of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 19th century, the convent was initially turned into a jail, as happened with several other monastic houses in the old districts of Barcelona. With gradual regrowth in tolerance for the Church, the building was subsequently given to the parish of Sant Antoni Abat nearby, and served as a mission parish under the protection of that parish. The nuns were thus able to return until the Tragic Week of 1906, when the complex was burned by the Leftists and the Dominicans once again had to flee. After this final expulsion, they did not return.

The complex was sold off and then used mainly as a warehouse, until it was purchased and restored by the city government for use as a conference and exhibition space in 1984. In 1995 Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art, known as MACBA, was built next door, and since 1999 the old convent has been the home of FAD, which despite its “faddish” name is Barcelona’s century-old institute for the promotion of those wanting to study and exhibit contemporary arts, architecture and design. The former chapel of the convent is an exhibition space and concert hall used by the Contemporary Art Museum.

Here we can see some exterior views of the old convent:

Here we can see what part of the convent looked like in 1906:

Here we can see some views of the present state of the chapel:

and here are some views of the interior vaulted spaces: