The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 1935 Page: 5 of 8
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Prep^d bythe National Geographic Society.
* JV“h‘“Kton- D- a-WNU Service.
TAKDLY out of Bight of the
I I 8D1oklng factory chimneys and
JL A scarcely out of hearing of the
noise and bustle of Barcelona,
busiest and most restless city of Spain,
a medieval Benedictine monastery
clings to the face of a fantastic stone
Peak that rises boldly from the brown
foothills of Cataluna (Catalonia). It
Is Montserrat, the nation's holiest
shrine, to which thousands of the Span-
ish faithful make pilgrimage each year
to Pay homage to what is called the
Black Virgin.
Montserrat Is the name of the
•trange mountain, and also of the mon-
astery, which clings like a swallow’s
nest halfway up its precipitous cliffs.
The Black Virgin, a wooden image
darkened by age, is not the only rea-
son why it Is a place of pilgrimage.
Montserrat, in Catalan tradition, is the
Monsalvatsh or Monsalvat of the Mid-
dle ages, site of the castle of the Holy
Grail. The Arabs called it GIstaus, or
the stone watchman. Here Ignatius of
Loyola, a wounded soldier, knelt in
Prayer, and went away to found the
Society of Jesus. In more recent years
the Montserrat choir school has be-
come celebrated.
Montserrat is accessible to Barcelona
by both railway and road. One way is
as picturesque as the other; for, while
the highway climbs to the monastery
In a series of hairpin turns and horse-
shoe curves, the last few miles of the
35-mile railway journey may be made
on a narrow-gauge rack-and-plnlon line
or in the bobbing cage of a new aerial
cableway.
Trip There Is Interesting.
Many, who are in no hurry, choose
the railway and the rack-and-pinion
route. Once clear of the spreading
suburbs of Barcelona, the main-line
railroad strikes boldly out into the
beautiful plain of Sardanola. The
countryside here resembles southern
California I There are green fields with
angular Irrigation ditches; rocky river
bottoms, rising at first gently and then
abruptly, into brush-covered foothills;
,and scraggly and unkempt clumps of
eucalyptus and pepper trees around
the water boles.
Gradually the scenery changes, as
It enters a region of irregular hills
and rocky valleys, sparsely covered
with vegetation. The line twists and
turns, how hurdling a deep ravine on
a stone viaduct, now plunging into a
short tunnel. The cars sway drunken-
ly from side to side as they climb to
the plateau.
Not nntil one Is very close to Mont-
serrat does the mountain come Into
▼lew. The train emerges from a tun-
nel and suddenly a giant mass of rock
seems to spring from the foothills, fling-
ing a thousand cathedral pinnacles
skyward I As the train swings closer,
so that only a deep river valley sep-
arates it from the Brobdlngnaglan
mass, a fantastic stone forest of
smoothly weathered domes, sugar
loaves, minarets and organ pipes is
silhouetted against the sky.
Of the monastery nothing Is visible
at first Then, one catches a glimpse
of tiny buildings which seem to be
carved from the rocky cliffs them-
selves. The little buildings are rath-
er extensive; but against the vast bulk
of the mountain they seem no larger
than wren houses.
The Black Virgin of Montserrat
Thousand Years Old.
The group of buildings snugly fills
a notch or narrow ravine cut deep
Into the mountain side. A thousand
feet above it the topmost pinnacles
of the mountains rise menacingly, but
the notch is safe enough.
While most of the present buildings
are comparatively new, the monastery
itself dates from A. D. 976; and legend
reports that a nunnery that preceded
it was founded In 880. So faithfully
have the monks followed the lines of
the older parts of the monastery in
making additions that even the new
gamge, for modern pilgrims who come
by motor, has an age-old air of perma-
nence. There Is no embellishment any-
where except on the chapel, with its
rounded apse.
The archway emerges Into a sun-lit
plaza or market place, filled with low-
land peasants hawking their wares,
and groups of pilgrims of all classes
actively and noisily bargaining for
food.
A traveler directs, to a terraced ar-
cade at the far side of the court, with-
In which is the office, was given some-
what of a surprise. Over the desk of
the father in charge of pilgrim regis-
tration was a shining electric light,
and at his right hand was a telephone 1
He had not expected such innovations
in a Benedictine monastery.
Had he been better acquainted with
the rule of St. Benedict he would have
known that the manner of life among
Benedictine monks has never been
austere.
The father takes your name and
place of abode and informs you that
you may remain for three days. You
are then assigned to a room, given an
armful of linen, and turned over to a
lay brother. Solemnly the latter leads
the way through the sepulchral corri-
dors of one of the large dormitories,
fitfully lighted here and there by i
dim electric light bulb, to a small,
plainly furnished room overlooking one
of the courts. It is clean and neat,
with two Iron beds, a table, a chair, a
basin, an empty waterpot, and a can-
dlestick without a candle. The lay
brother hands you a key, Informs you
that meals can be taken in the res-
taurant of the monastery, accepts a
small tip under protest, and with-
draws.
The Black Virgin.
As the monk’s echoing footsteps re-
cede down the corridor, something of
the blissful peace and quiet of the
place steals over you. The clear sun
pours through the window, dazzling
bright against the whitewashed walls.
In order to see the sacred image
which Is shown at the 10 o’clock mass
one hurries down to the courtyard. A
steady stream of worshipers files
through the carved doorway of the
basilica. According to legend. La
Moreneta. as the Black Virgin Is called
was carved by St. Luke himself and
brought to Barcelona A. D. 50 by St.
Peter. During the Moorish Invasion
and occupation it was hidden by Chris-
tian monks in one of the caves of Mont
serrat near the site of the present
monastery. Years later shepherds dis-
covered It and told stories of strange
music heard in the vicinity.
An effort was made to bring It down
from the mountain, but, although the
statue is not quite life-size. It could
not be moved beyond the ledge where
the monastery now stands. The basil-
lea, accordingly, was erected to pro-
tect it, and the monastery built to care
for the throngs of pilgrims who
climbed the mountain to worship at
the Virgin’s shrine. Especially do
young couples come to Montserrat, for
the blessing of La Moreneta is said to
insure a happy union.
The dinginess of the Interior of the
basilica serves only to accentuate the
brilliance of the altar, with Its Jewels,
sliver plate and bright vestments. It
was on this altar in the Sixteenth cen-
tury that Loyola laid his sword when
he abandoned his military life to de-
vote himself to the service of Christ.
Above the high altar, surrounded by
lighted candles. Is a small stage con-
cealed by two velvet curtains. You
keep your eye on those curtains for
you know the Image must be back of
them. Preseiftly the chanting of the
priests Increases In volume, and the
curtains are drawn slowly aside.
You gasp I Even though you have
been told that the Image is blackened
from age, you had not expected any-
thing like this. White vestments and
a light background make the face and
the hands gleam like Jet I For a silent
moment everyone gazes, and then the
curtains drop together. Only so long
la the sacred Image exposed is rla*.
First Grade Pupil Tells
Real Origin of “Pork”
First grade pupils at Springfield.
Mo., gave Borne amusing and sur-
prising answers in a rending aptitude
test, says the New Orleans Times-'
Picayune. One teacher was forced
to wonder if a lad of such tender
years could be guilty of cynicism
when she obtained a reply to the
questiou of where pork came from.
The boy grinned widely.
“From the courthouse." he said.
The question “who la President of
the United States?" proved difficult
for many of the pupils, but one boy
answered without hesitation. "Wash-
ington.”
“I run this way, I run that way.
hut I don’t run home." was anotboK
b°y a explanation of a home run.
“Whar did Cinderella lose at the
ball?" the teacher asked.
The pupil looked puzzled a moment
and then said, eagerly, “I know, she
loat a bat."
Another boy was asked what bsfcy
doga are called. After deep thought;
he responded, ’’hamburgers.’
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Stone, Harry N. The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 1935, newspaper, June 6, 1935; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth518891/m1/5/?rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.