Pope Leo XIV sidesteps Catalan controversy in Barcelona

BARCELONA – In the build-up to Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Spain, there was controversy in Catalonia when the Vatican released the missal for the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ – at the world-famous Sagrada Familia – that was in Spanish. Many asked why there wasn’t any Catalan.

Antoni Gaudí, the brilliant mind behind the construction of the basilica, was extremely proud of his Catalan heritage and even addressed the Spanish King in the language. In 1924, Gaudí was arrested for speaking Catalan to Spanish authorities and refusing to change to Castilian.

The outrage is best viewed in this context – not including the centuries of complex history between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, as well as Franco’s suppression of the language – and the pope dealt nimbly with an issue that could have easily overshadowed his visit to Barcelona.

Leo was “perfectly informed” of the potential pitfalls that lay in wait in Barcelona, according to Salvador Illa, president of the Catalonian government. Illa was speaking to Cadena COPE, a media company owned in part by the Spanish bishops’ conference, about a meeting he had with the pope on Tuesday afternoon, the day of the pontiff’s