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Pope to Use Catalan in All Events During Visit to Catalonia

An emergency meeting in the Vatican has helped to resolve the controversy surrounding the limited use of Catalan during the papal visit.

Generic image of a microphone on a podium.
IA

Generic image of a microphone on a podium.

The Holy Father will significantly increase the use of Catalan in all events during his visit to Catalonia, scheduled for June 9-10, following an emergency meeting in the Vatican.

An emergency meeting held last Wednesday with the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, which was attended remotely by the Archbishop of Barcelona, Joan Josep Omella, reportedly helped to resolve the controversy over the limited use of Catalan that Pope Leo XIV had planned for his trip to Catalonia. The news was reported by journalist and historian Vicenç Lozano, who specializes in Vatican affairs, on the program Els Matins de 3Cat.
According to the journalist and historian, there is currently "a lack of understanding" at the Vatican regarding "the Catalan nation." There are very few Catalans at the Holy See, and none among the senior ecclesiastical officials. This fact decisively influenced the Holy Father's initial plan not to use Catalan during his visit to Catalonia. Still according to the journalist's account, the proposal from the Spanish Episcopal Conference for the Pope's speeches to be predominantly in Spanish was accepted by the Vatican, but it was due to "ignorance," commented Lozano.
The conclusion of last Wednesday's meeting is that the Holy Father will significantly expand the use of Catalan in all events during his time in Catalonia, both at Montserrat and in Barcelona. Lozano specified that many parts of the words Pope Leo XIV was to say in Spanish have been translated into Catalan and recorded for the pontiff to learn the language. Last week, it was already announced that Leo XIV would use the Catalan language for the blessing of the tower of Jesus, the central event during the visit to the Sagrada Familia this Wednesday afternoon. Initially, the speech was planned to be only in Spanish.
The fact that the Pope had not planned to use Catalan during his visit to the Sagrada Familia caused considerable indignation and political and social outcry. Junts, ERC, Alhora, and Plataforma per la Llengua expressed criticism of the decision to exclude the region's native language from the blessing of the tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia and urged the Government and the City Council of Barcelona to intervene.
The rector of the parish of Sant Agustí, Faustino Mlewga, added to the controversy in a clear case of Catalanophobia driven from within the Church. In an interview on the program Catalunya Nit on Catalunya Ràdio, he defended Pope Leo XIV speaking Spanish during his visit to Catalan lands, stating in Spanish: "We are in Spain. When someone comes to Spain, they know that the national language of Spain is Spanish." According to Mlewga, Leo XIV cannot learn Catalan in a day. The Pope will visit the parish in the Raval during his stay in Barcelona.

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