«Barcino Sacra»: a project aimed at making the Church’s heritage more accessible.
Earlier today, the project Barcino Sacra was presented at a press conference. This cultural initiative of the Archdiocese of Barcelona, in collaboration with Turisme de Barcelona, seeks to make the Church’s heritage more accessible to everyone by presenting it in a coherent and comprehensive way across all its dimensions.
The presentation event, held at the Palau Episcopal de Barcelona, was presided over by Joan Josep Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona. It also included the participation of Eduard Torres, president of the Tourism of Barcelona consortium, and Josep Maria Turull, director of the Diocesan Secretariat for Tourism and commissioner of Barcino Sacra for the Archdiocese of Barcelona.
One of the first initiatives presented was the “Barcino Sacra Card”, a joint ticket granting access to a selection of ecclesiastical heritage sites of the Archdiocese of Barcelona that are open to cultural visits. At present, the eight visitable spaces—soon to be expanded—are: Monestir de Sant Pau del Camp, a Romanesque jewel; Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi, gateway to the Roman city; Oratori de Sant Felip Neri, a Baroque gem; Barcelona Cathedral, the cathedral of the city; Casa de l’Almoina, the Cathedral’s charitable house; Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar, a paradigmatic Gothic building; Sant Pere de les Puel·les, with twelve centuries of history and Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor del Tibidabo, the city’s lookout.
“Today we present the embryo of a project that can grow with new religious tourism sites throughout the Archdiocese of Barcelona,” explained Eduard Torres. For his part, Cardinal Omella positively highlighted the institutional collaboration between Tourism of Barcelona and the Archdiocese “as an example of shared work.”
About «Barcino Sacra»
This project seeks to highlight the values and purpose of ecclesiastical heritage in a pedagogical way, fostering the personal, intellectual, and spiritual growth of those who approach it. It promotes the preservation and conservation of diocesan cultural heritage while simultaneously enriching the city’s cultural offering.
In short, Barcino Sacra is a joint initiative of the Diocesan Secretariat for Cultural Heritage and the Diocesan Secretariat for Tourism, Pilgrimages and Shrines, coordinated with the churches included in the project and carried out in collaboration with Tourism of Barcelona.
Visiting hours have been standardized from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and in some cases also on Sundays. The price of the Barcino Sacra Card is €47 for adults, €42 for students aged 16–25, and €17 for children aged 3–15.
About the Archdiocesan Church of Barcelona
The presence of the Church in Barcelona dates back to ancient times. Today, the pastoral mission of the Archdiocesan Church of Barcelona extends throughout the metropolitan region of the Catalan capital, which has nearly three million inhabitants.
Cardinal Joan Josep Omella is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Barcelona, with two suffragan dioceses: Terrassa and Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Since March 2020, Cardinal Omella has also served as President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
