Santa Eulalia – The forgotten saint of Barcelona
Tours TravelIf you have been lucky enough to visit Barcelona in the week of September 24, you will know from the week of “La Mercé” festivities that the patron saint of Barcelona is Our Lady of Mercy. However, there is a second saint who is perhaps a bit forgotten, and it is easy to see why. Keep reading to know more!
February 12 is the date of the second -perhaps not so well known- Patron Saint of Barcelona, Santa Eulalia. She has also been given the name of patron saint of children. It dates from the year 303 AD. C., details are sketchy depending on who you talk to, but the legend lives on. 13-year-old Eulalia (affectionately known as Laia) protested to the then governor of Barcelona, Dacian, about the persecution of Christians. Dacian was so furious at the girl’s open opinions that he ordered a punishment for each of her years, all of which were extremely barbaric. The 13 punishments are not entirely clear, but what is clear from all accounts is that she never spoke a word during each torture. The poor girl was mutilated with hooks, they put her in a barrel with broken glass and nails and they threw her down a hill, they put hot oil on her wounds, they whipped her, they put her in a box with fleas and finally they nailed her to a cross in the place that is now Plaça Padró.
One would think that this would be enough to grant the girl the title of saint, but the story does not end there.
Until the 9th century, his body rested in the basilica of Santa María del Mar, when it was decided to move his body to the cathedral. A large procession of the city’s well-to-do population (Eulalia herself was the daughter of a wealthy family from uptown) followed the pallbearers to the city gates. Legend has it that the entire procession stopped, that the coffin had become too heavy to pass through the doors. The prayer continued and an angel descended and pointed a finger at one of the canons, who admitted to having taken a finger from Eulalia’s body, as a memory of her. Once the finger was returned, the procession continued and to this day the body of Santa Eulalia rests -intact- in the crypt of the cathedral. The city gates were renamed “Puerta de Santa Eulalia” (Santa Eulalia’s gate) until the city walls were torn down, and the place is still called “Plaça de l’Àngel” or Plaza del Ángel.
The church in Plaça Padró (which used to house the local radio station) has been undergoing extensive renovation work – I think it will be partly converted into a nursery – and locals have requested that the body be moved again, along which they say would be his legitimate burial place and the change of name of the square. However, in this case and considering the story, I think it might be better to leave poor Eulalia where she is.