Montserrat Abbey kicks off its millennium anniversary celebrations

Montserrat Abbey, located on the iconic Catalan religious mountain, kicked off its millennium celebrations this Saturday with a civic event in Basílica de Santa Maria with more than 600 people. 

This is the first of many more celebrations to come in the next 15 months, until December 8 2025.  

The highlights of the event were the premiere of a video mapping in the Basílica and a drone show with the music of 'el Virolai', a choir song dedicated to the black Madonna. 

The Catalan president, Salvador Illa, was in Montserrat for the event and explained that "this religious site is a great symbol of our country, and the world needs the values that this place represents, such as dialogue and understanding." 

There were other politicians and authorities present in Montserrat such as Josep Rull, the parliament speaker, and former Catalan presidents such as Pere Aragonès, Quim Torra, Artur Mas and José Montilla.  

During the event, various speeches highlight that the millennium must be used to look back and relieve this 1,000 years of history of Montserrat, but also to look ahead into the future. 

This start of the celebrations was focused on various concepts such as culture, history, spirituality and nature, something that the rest of the activities will also see. 

Podcast 

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.