Today is Santa Montserrat!
Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain very close to Barcelona.
It is one of the sacred mountains of Catalunya.
On a clear day you can see the jagged tops from Granollers.

High on the mountain is a Benedictine Abbey

Santa Maria de Montserrat houses the statue of the black virgin of Montserrat and has a world famous choir school which sings every day in the public area of the monastery.
Here is a video of them singing Virolai, words by Verdaguer (our little square is named after him)
When I first played this Someone Else in the room joined in with the singing!
‘All Catalans know this’
Montserrat is one of the patron saints of Catalunya  (Sant Jordi being the other)

Many many women are named after her.
The shortened version of the name is Montse and I would need all my fingers and toes to count the number of Montses I have met since moving here.
The statue is made of wood and is probably Romanesque.
She sits at the back of the monastery where people queue to visit her.
The story of her discovery is that a group of children were playing near a cave on the mountain and suddenly saw a light coming down from the sky and angels flying around them.
People came from the village and looking inside the cave they found the statue of a black Madonna.
Why black?
Here are some stories about that.
There are also stories about the connection between Montserrat and the Holy Grail which some people believe is hidden somewhere in the mountain.
You can get married in Montserrat monastery and in fact my partners mother, named Montse, had her wedding there.
There are wonderful walks around the mountain.
Most important of all – Happy Saints Day to all Montses!