Montserrat

On Sunday morning we took a short half-day trip to Montserrat, a mountain monastery dating back to the 9th century that is dedicated to Santa María, the Virgin Mary. Montserrat is an hour southwest of Barcelona and the monastery is located atop one of the mountains there. We arrived first thing in the morning and took a cable car up to see the monastery and cathedral. When you get to the cathedral, there is a line going out the door in order to see a statue of the Virgin Mary with an orb in her right hand. Visitors are supposed to touch the orb and put there other hand up to heaven to receive blessing. However, once we got to the front of the line, after a 30 minute wait, it was 10:30am and they shut the door for Sunday mass. We were still able to enter the cathedral and view the inside of this magnificent church, but we were unable to see the statue from up close.

Inside the Cathedral

Statue of Santa Maria 

The main beauty of Montserrat though lies in nature. The top of Montserrat is 5,000 ft above sea level, and thus gives a stunning view of the city below and the neighboring mountains and canyons. We took a short hike up the mountain to really appreciate nature and this view. I can definitely see how this is a perfect place to meditate in prayer and appreciate God’s glory through His nature. 

Me on the mountain

Dad and me

Mom and me

view of the cliffs

cable car route up the mountain

view of the rivers looking down from the cliffs