Catalan parliament awards Medal of Honor to 1000-year-old Montserrat monastery

The Catalan parliament will award the Gold Medal of Honor to Montserrat monastery in 2025, coinciding with the 1,000-year anniversary celebration of its foundation.

The house speaker, Josep Rull, praised the monastery as a "bastion of Catalan language and culture" as well as "collective freedoms."

Between September 2024 and December 2025, the monastery will celebrate its 1,000th anniversary with religious, cultural, and social activities.

The Medal of Honor will be presented during a ceremony on September 10, 2024.

Rull said that the monastery is "the center of the most popular religious site among Catalans, but it is also an international pilgrim site."

The speaker also pointed out the work of the monastery in terms of peace, social justice, and the fight against climate change.

During the last few years, the monastery has found itself in the middle of many sexual assault cases involving monks, including having to force one monk to step aside.

'Great honor'

The Monastery said it was "great honor" to receive the award.

The Medal of Honor is Parliament's highest distinction, awarded to people and institutions who set benchmarks for Catalonia, such as chef Carme Ruscalleda or football manager Pep Guardiola, as well as the charity Càritas Catalunya or the Òmnium Cultural civil organization.

Mystic mountain

Montserrat is a natural wonder, a rocky mountain range that rises from the plains of central Catalonia. It's a holy place, home to La Moreneta, the Virgin of Montserrat, and a Benedictine Abbey with a history stretching back one thousand years. Press play below to listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.