religion

'At a Crossroads' will take place from November 27 to 30 with attendees from 33 different countries

While some Easter traditions still remain strong, the religious landscape of Catalonia has changed utterly in recent decades

Catalan society now a lot more diverse thanks to waves of immigration over the past decades

Pilgrims also urged to use common sense over kissing of religious icons the Black Madonna and Virgin of Núria

Willy Toledo, accused by Christian group of offending religious sentiment, says he will "continue shitting on God while they continue raping babies and children" referring to Catholic sexual abuse scandals

Islam is one of the most practiced religions in the city, but there are limited options for worship in the Catalan capital

Islam is one of the most practiced religions in the city, but there are limited options for worship in the Catalan capital

Accommodation sells out in many areas while pastry chefs hail a “spectacular” year for traditional ‘mona’ cakes

Josep Maria Ballarín, popularly known as ‘Mossèn Ballarín’, was a Catalan priest, writer and intellectual. Regarded as a symbol of Catalanism and defined by some as an atypical priest, he represented one of the most heterodox branches of the Catalan church. Ballarín published more than 40 books and achieved great popularity with ‘Mossèn Tronxo’ (‘Tronxo Priest’) in 1989, which sold more than 100,000 copies. His novel ‘Santa María, pa de cada dia’ (‘Saint Maria, daily bread’) won the Ramon Llull prize in 1996, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Catalan literature. In 1995 he was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi, a prize given by the Catalan government to those individuals or institutions whose work in the political, social, economic, cultural or scientific field has been outstanding. Ballarín died this Friday at the age of 96.

The 27^th of April is the feast day of the Mare de Déu deMontserrat,Our Lady of Montserrat, or as she is more affectionately called in Catalonia, la Moreneta, "the little dark-skinned one". One of the only black images of the Virgin Mary in Europe, the Virgin of Montserrat is the patron saint of all dioceses in Catalonia and together with St. George (Sant Jordi) is considered the patron saint of the territory. In recent history, she has also become a symbol for Catalan national identity and Catholic Catalan nationalism. Up in the mountains of Montserrat, the Santa María abbey celebrated on Monday with a mass dedicated to the Virgin, and outside in the main square there were numerous traditional activities including people making human towers (castells), music bands and food stalls, as well as groups dancing the traditional Catalan dance, La Sardana.

A memorial ceremony for the 150 victims of the Germanwings plane, 53 of whom were living in Catalonia, has taken place on Monday evening at Barcelona's Sagrada Família Basilica, the world famous church designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. In the end, the ceremony also included a few words from representatives of the Protestant, Jewish and Muslim communities, after the controversy surrounding the Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, who had initially planned a solely Catholic ceremony. The mass was attended by relatives and close friends of 52 victims. Out of the 150 victims on the Germanwings plane, which was flying between Barcelona and Düsseldorf and was intentionally crashed in the Alps, 47 had Spanish nationality and 72 were German citizens. The ceremony in Barcelona was held in Catalan, Spanish, German, French, English, Greek and Italian. It was attended by the King of Spain, the Spanish PM and the Catalan President.

A state funeral for the victims of the Germanwings plane that was intentionally crashed in the French Alps in March is to be held this Monday evening at 6pm (CET) at Barcelona's Sagrada Família basilica. The flight was going from Barcelona to Düsseldorf and, out of the 150 casualties, 53 were living in Catalonia. The ceremony follows the state funeral that took place in Cologne's Cathedral 10 days ago. The King of Spain, Felipe VI, is going to be attending the Barcelona ceremony, together with his wife, Queen Letizia. There has been some controversy over the fact that the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, has chosen to celebrate a Catholic mass, instead of holding a multi-confessional ceremony in order to represent as much as possible the victims' different faiths. Regarding language diversity, the ceremony will be held in Spanish, Catalan, German, French, English and Greek. In the German ceremony, Catalan was not included, nor was it included on the memorial plaque set at the crash site.

The Friends of Russia Foundation is planning to build an orthodox church on the Costa Daurada, the southern coast of Catalonia. The new temple would be the first Russian orthodox one in Catalonia and the biggest one in Spain. It is aimed at Russian visitors, the most emerging touristic market in the area over recent years. The construction of the temple could mean a 10% rise in Russian tourists on the southern Catalan coasts. Its location will be made public at the end of March. Besides, according to the Catalan minister of Business and Occupation, Russian tourism will grow 40% in Catalonia this year. Last year one million Russians spent their holidays in Spain, and 600,000 stayed in Catalonia. Out of this 600,000, 70% chose the Costa Daurada, followed by the Costa Brava.