The bishop of Girona, Octavi Vilà, has defended that the Pope should bless the Tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Família in Catalan. The ceremony planned for the basilica, however, will be held exclusively in Spanish.
The main friction appears there. Barcelona's most emblematic temple will host an event linked to Catalonia's own language, but Catalan is left out of the central blessing, even though one of the Catalan bishops is calling for a greater presence in the ceremony.
Octavi Vilà asked for the Pope's blessing to be in Catalan
Vilà explained that he would wish for Catalan's presence at the event to be more important than what, in his words, "it seems it will finally be." His position directly affects the linguistic format of a celebration with a strong symbolic charge for Barcelona and for the Catalan Church.
The bishop of Girona did not limit that request to the moment of the papal blessing. He also expressed his confidence that other ecclesiastical officials will introduce Catalan into their interventions during the ceremony.
Other ecclesiastical officials could give Catalan a notable presence
Among those names, he cited the bishop of Sant Feliu, the abbot of Montserrat, and the archbishop of Barcelona. Vilà said he expects a "notable presence" of Catalan from them, although the basilica's blessing will maintain Spanish as the sole language.
Meanwhile, the organizers of the event and the Generalitat de Catalunya have downplayed the controversy over the treatment of the region's own language in the ceremony. The debate is thus concentrated on the contrast between the institutional and religious nature of the event and the limited role that Catalan will have in one of its main moments.
Octavi Vilà placed that expectation on the interventions of the bishop of Sant Feliu, the abbot of Montserrat, and the archbishop of Barcelona, from whom he expects a "notable presence" of Catalan.