Montserrat mountain celebrates millennium with 15 months of activities

Montserrat, the iconic Catalan religious mountain, will begin its millennium celebrations in September with 15 months of religious, cultural and social activities.   

On Friday, Manel Gasch, the abbot of Montserrat, unveiled the celebrations, which will begin on September 7 and end on December 8, 2025.  

The 15-month celebration will include religious, cultural and social activities. Among the activities will be a meeting in Montserrat with a hundred abbots and monks from all over the world.

A documentary film explaining how the monks live in Montserrat and what monastic life means in the 21st century will be shown, as well as the premiere of a video mapping in the Basilica of Santa Maria.   

There will also be a music festival with about fifteen concerts and various exhibitions, including one that will travel around the world to showcase Montserrat and what its millennial history means to society. 

Gasch outlined their desire to maintain Montserrat as a "safe haven for language, study, heritage preservation, and business and institutional cooperation." 

Bernat Juliol, commissioner of the festivities, explained that they wanted it to be a "sustainable" celebration and announced that Montserrat has been working for years in favor of the environment and sustainability.

The abbey has invited Pope Francis to attend the celebration, although it is not certain that he will attend.