The president of our Federation is here for the upcoming weekend and this evening she shared "home movies" of her visit to 12 monasteries of Benedictine women in Spain. Some of her scenes brought back fond memories of the year I attended the AIM International meeting at Montserrat, the world-famous Benedictine abbey of men about 40 miles outside of Barcelona. Built on a large cliff in the mountains, their primary ministry is to be of service to pilgrims visiting their Black Madonna. Thousands and thousands of people a year drive, ride the train or come up via cable car to spend the day visiting the beautiful church, go to confession (part of the pilgrimage requirements), hear the boys' choir and see the Black Madonna statue.
We also spent a day in Barcelona, staying in the guest house of a small group of Benedictine sisters. Nearly all of the communities are small (5-15 members) but very welcoming and wanting to hear all about the monasteries in the USA. We had to share the same information 10 years ago when we visited. Another memory of Barcelona that just came back to me is the remembrance that it was Thanksgiving Day when we were there, and we "celebrated" by going to McDonald's along a waterway and enjoying eating American!
If you go to southeastern Spain, the Barcelona area, I highly encourage you to look into a side trip to Montserrat! Incredible.
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