The Pope will designate
Sagrada Familia a basilica;
Barcelona archbishop
reveals proposed program
BARCELONA, Spain, JULY 23, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In addition to blessing the Church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Benedict XVI will proclaim Antoni Gaudi's church a basilica.
Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, revealed this today at a press conference held at midday with some 100 journalists in the Gaudi Room of Barcelona's diocesan museum.
The cardinal explained numerous details of the Pope's November visit to Barcelona, where, in addition to consecrating the church dedicated to the Holy Family, he will visit the school for the disabled of the diocesan foundation Niño Dios.
The apostolic visit to Spain will begin on Saturday, Nov. 6, with the Pontiff's arrival in Santiago de Compostela for the Jacobeo Holy Year. This holy year is celebrated every time his annual feast day on July 25 falls on a Sunday.
Benedict XVI will venerate the tomb of the Apostle James in the Cathedral of Compostela. He will preside at a prayer for invited children, older people and sick persons in the Cathedral and then have lunch with the bishops of northern Spain.
In the afternoon, he will preside at Holy Mass in the vast Plaza Obraidores facing the main facade of the cathedral.
After the Mass, he will leave for Barcelona, where is expected to arrive around 9 p.m. He will be welcomed by a delegation that might include Felipe, the Prince of Asturias and heir to the Spanish throne.
Benedict XVI will spend the night at the Archbishopric of Barcelona, where he is scheduled to arrive at 9:45 pm.
The following morning, Sunday, Nov. 7, the Pope will travel by Popemobile from the archbishopric to the Church of the Sagrada Familia.
Before entering the church, the Popemobile will pass through the surrounding streets so that those gathered around the church will have a chance to greet the Pontiff. Cardinal Martínez Sistach said that as many as 500,000 are expected to gather.
Benedict XVI will enter the church through the southern door on Mallorca street. He will be vested in the sacristy and proceed to solemnly open the bronze doors of the Portico of Glory.
This will be followed by Mass, during which the altar will be dedicated. The Litany of the Saints will be recited followed by the prayer to consecrate the church to God.
Then the altar and the walls will be anointed with holy oil before the first incensing of the newly consecrated altar.
At the end of the Mass, the Pope will go out to the Portico of the Nativity to greet the faithful and pray the midday Angelus, from the same place where John Paul II stood during his visit to Barcelona in 1982.
After the Marian prayer and his address and greetings to pilgrims, the Holy Father will enter the Church again, process the whole length of the church, and unveil the commemorative inscription of the day's event.
The Pope XVI will return to the archbishopric in the Popemobile to lunch with the bishops of eastern Spain.
At 5:15 pm, the Pope will visit the foundation Niño Dios -- dedicated to persons with Down syndrome and other disabilities, This diocesan foundation is run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
The Pope will lead a prayer with the students and chat with them and their families, Then he will bless the first stone for a new residence.
Cardinal Martínez said that the Pope had wanted "after blessing the Church of the Holy Family, to be close to those families that are suffering for one reason or another, including those who have sons and daughters with disabilities - those for whom Sagrada Familia could be an icon full of hope".
The Pope will them head back to Barcelona airport for the official farewell ceremony to be attended by the King and Queen of Spain. The Pope and his party will leave for Rome at 9:15 p.m.
I subsequently checked out the website of the Archdiocese of Barcelona which did have a full news release (and photos) of Cardinal Martinez's news conference.
Archbishop of Barcelona calls
for massive citizen participation
during the Pope's visit
Translated from
July 23, 2010
At a news conference on Friday, Cardinal Julio Martinez Sistach, Archbishop of Barcelona, gave details of the program for Pope Benedict XVI's visit on November 7 to dedicate the Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia, the monumental church designed by Catalan architectural genius Antoni Gaudi and begun 128 years ago.
The cardinal reiterated his invitation to all the citizens of Barcelona and its surroundings to respond to the Holy Father's visit "with a massive civilian presence at the ceremony and in the streets through which the Holy Father will pass".
The Holy Father, along with a multitude of priests, will celebrate the first Mass in Sagrada Familia, whose interior is being completed in time for his visit.
Before the Mass, he will solemnly open the bronze doors of the church's main entrance, called the Portico of Glory. The consecration rites during the Mass will consist of the dedication of the altar with the recitation of the litany of saints as an invocation to all those who preceded us in the faith, the anointing of the altar and the columns, the incensing of the altar and the nave, and the illumination of the church.
At the end of the Mass, the Pope will proceed to the Portico of the Nativity, where, from the same place as John Paul II did in 1982
[when Sagrada Familia was little more than an exterior shell] , he will lead the Angelus prayer to be broadcast worldwide.
He will then return to the interior where he will unveil a commemorative plaque of the dedication and will proclaim the church as a basilica.
Center diagram indicates the nave (in red) which is the last major part of the church interior being completed in time for the Pope's visit.
It will be the sixth basilica in Barcelona - in addition to the Cathedral of Barcelona, and the churches of Santa Maria del Mar, San Jose Oriol, La Merce (Virgin of Mercy), and La Concepcion.
After Mass, the Pope will lunch at the Archbishop's Palace with the bishops and prelates of the region. In the afternoon, he will proceed to the Guinardo neighborhood to visit the Obra del Nino Dios (Work of the Child Jesus), an archdiocesan organization for disabled and handicapped children run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary, where he will meet with the children and their families.
Cardinal Martinez said the Pope had specifically asked to meet with families who find themselves in difficulties "for whom the Templo de la Sagrada Familia can be an icon of hope". He said it was a demonstration of the sensitivity of the Holy Father and the Church to the most needy in society.
In this way, said the cardinal, "Benedict XVI wishes to thank all the diocesan entities for their work and dedication in so many fields and on so many occasions in behalf of Christian families, especially those who are in difficulties".
During his visit to the Obra del Nino Dios, the Holy Father will talk to the children and their families, pray with them, and bless the first stone for a new residence for the wards.
From Nino Dios, the Pope will proceed to the airport of El Prat where the King and Queen of Spain are expected to be present for the farewell ceremony. The papal party will leave for Rome around 7:15 p.m., spoke about promotional material prepared by the diocese.
He pointed out "the simplicity and clarity of the official poster which features the three most important elements of the visit: the Holy Father, the Sagrada Familia, and the city of Barcelona". It was designed by Josep Rom, vice-dean of the Faculty of Communications of the Universidad Ramon Llull.
The posters, catecheses for the visit, and bookmarks carrying the preparatory prayer for the visit, have been produce3d in both Catalan and Spanish versions.
Jordi Roigé, who is in charge of communications for the visit, mentioned the launch of the website
www.papabarcelona2010.org to keep the public and the media informed of all the information relevant to the Pope's visit.
Answering questions, Cardinal Martinez said that the liturgy would be in Catalan, Spanish and Latin. he said the Pope "is aware of our situation"
[Catalonia is an autonomous region of Spain, and Catalans, like the Basques, are extremely proud of their language and culture as distinct from the Castilian language and culture of the rest of Spain] and expressed the hope that he would address the faithful in Catalan "as Cardinal Bertone did when he visited recently."
The Sagrada Familia has a seating capacity of 9,000 but for security reasons, admission to the papal Mass will be limited to 7,500.
However, the surrounding streets and squares - the Plaza de la Sagrada Familia and Plaza Gaudi - will be able to accommodate tens of thousands.
The cardinal said that in all, he expects at least half a million faithful to be present for the consecration and to see the Holy Father as he travels by Popemobile through the city streets during his brief visit.
The archdiocese will suspend all morning Masses on November 7 in order to allow priests to concelebrate the consecration Mass with the Holy Father and focus the attention of the faithful on the event in Sagrada Familia.
Asked about the costs of the visit, the cardinal replied: "A visit like this obviously requires some expense, and the Pope is also a visiting head of state, so some of the cost will be born by the government. Nonetheless, the Church in Barcelona is very much aware of the current economic and social crisis, therefore we have organized this visit from the point of view of austerity and cost awareness. We will do what needs to be done but do so with austerity".
The cardinal's final message:
"The Holy Father understands the catechetical conception that Gaudi intended in his church design and shares the architect's vision of the temple as a place of worship where the faithful can dedicate themselves to prayer and meditating on the Word of God.
"For this reason, we want the Sagrada Familia - while retaining its cultural and touristic value
[it has been visited by four million persons yearly, Barcelona's leading tourist attraction] - will become, right after its dedication, a place of worship and celebration of the faith".
He expressed the hope that "with the continuing support and contribution of everyone, we can see the completion of the entire church complex in 2026, centenary of Gaudi's death, at which we hope we shall also be able to celebrate the beatification of this mystic and architectural genius".
[The diocesan part of the process for Gaudi's beatifcation has been completed and forwarded to the Congregation for the Cuases of Sainthood, where investigation of Gaudi's life and writings is underway.]
Here is the anticipated program for the Holy Father's visit to Barcelona:
Saturday, Nov. 6
21:00 Arrival at El Prat airport from Santiago de Compostela
21:45 Arrival at the Archbishop's Palace, where the pope will spend the night.
Sunday, Nov. 7
09:15 Travel by Popemobile to the Templo Expiqatorio de la Sagrada Familia
10:00 Holy Mass and dedication rites at Sagrada Familia.
- Before the Mass, the Archbishop of Barcelona will formally greet the Holy Father.
12:00 The Holy Father will lead the Angelus from the church's Facade of the Nativity
13:00 Lunch at the Archbishop's Palace with the archdiocesan staff and the papal delegation
17:15 Visit to the Instituto Nino Dios
18:30 Official farewell ceremony at El Prat airport
19:15 Depart for Rome
20:55 Arrival at Rome's Ciampino airport.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 26/07/2010 18:25]