HELLO BLOGGETTES!!!!
And so my posts on my Barcelona adventure continue! As I have mentioned previously, I visited Spain a few weeks ago to celebrate my friend's birthday and it was such an amazing experience! One of the sights we visited was THE BARCELONA CATHEDRAL.
CATEDRAL DE LA SANTA CRUZ Y SANTA EULALIA
The CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS AND SAINT EULALIA, also known as THE BARCELONA CATHEDRAL, is a GOTHIC CATHEDRAL and seat of the ARCHBISHOP of Barcelona, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the 13th to the 15th centuries; it is a HALL CHURCH which is dedicated to EULALIA OF BARCELONA!
SAINT EULALIA, a co-patron saint of Barcelona, was a 13 year old Roman Christian virgin who suffered martyrdom in Barcelona during the persecutions of Christians in the reign of emperor Diocletian. For refusing to recant her Christianity, the Romans subjected her to thirteen tortures, including crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, and finally decapitation!! Apparently, there is debate as to whether SAINT EULALIA OF BARCELONA, and SAINT EULALIA OF MERIDA are in fact the same person as their stories are almost identical.
I don't know about you but I find Saint Eulalia's story so inspiring. Her love for Christ was so true that she literally laid down her life for our Saviour! As Christians we always take pride in saying that WE HAVE TAKEN OUR CROSSES AND ARE FOLLOWING CHRIST! We boldly say (and correctly so might I add because that is what Christ calls us to do) that WE WILL FOLLOW OUR LORD ANYWHERE HE LEADS US! But have we stopped to think about what that truly means? If we were in a situation like that of Saint Eulalia, having to choose between denouncing our Saviour or facing horrific tortures that would ultimately lead to our death what would we choose? This is by no means an attempt to guilt-trip, instead it is meant to cause us to think and reflect very deeply of our Christian journey!
The body of Saint Eulalia is entombed in the cathedral's crypt. The cathedral also contains the tombs of other saints and bishops, including SAINT OLEGARIUS, SAINT RAYMOND OF PENYAFORT, amongst many others.
The side
CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SACRAMENT AND OF THE HOLY CHRIST OF LEPANTO contains a cross said to date from the time of the
BATTLE OF LEPANTO!
The cathedral also has a secluded
GOTHIC CLOISTER where
13 WHITE GEESE are kept, the number is meant to signify the age of Saint Eulalia (13 years old) when she was martyred.
Apart from the
BEAUTY OF THE CATHEDRAL, as a Christian, the visit was special because of the history behind it.
Here are some of my favourite highlights from my visit to the Barcelona Cathedral:
As the Barcelona Cathedral is a holy place, there is a strict dress code.
And then we went up to the ROOFTOP OF THE CATHEDRAL and we saw SPECTACULAR VIEWS of the city of BARCELONA, SPAIN.
Views of Barcelona from the rooftop of the Barcelona Cathedral
More views of the city of Barcelona
THE GEESE!
There you have it bloggettes! More to come on my Barcelona adventure in my upcoming posts! Sneak peak includes reviews of PARK GUELL, LA SAGRADA FAMILIA to name just a few, so keep following.
Until next time
Slius
Labels: Barcelona, Spain, Travel
