The schedule of activities that appears on the website of the bishopric of Solsona indicates a relatively unusual celebration for Sunday, March 26 at 12 noon: a mass to ask for rain.
The anti-drought religious event will be presided over by the bishop of Solsona, Francesc Conesa, and will take place in the church of Our Lady of Torrents, in the parish of Correà (Berguedà) [municipal term of Espunyola], as detailed on the page on the internet of the diocese itself.
After the Eucharist, the parishioners (neighbors and onlookers, in general) will be able to participate in a procession around this Baroque-style sanctuary listed in the inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. Probably, the religious procession will be led by a step or small platform with a carving of the Virgin of Torrents, a replica of the figure venerated in this sanctuary (whose original carving is preserved in the church of Sant Martí de Correà).
The proposal to celebrate the mass in request of rain arose a few days ago from a group of peasants from the parishes of Correà and Montmajor, the spokeswoman for the bishopric of Solsona explained to this newspaper. "Concern about the drought is general and a group of neighbors thought about recovering the tradition and celebrating a mass in request of rain, as had been done in the past," says the spokesperson for the bishopric.
The peasant promoters of the mass requested that the act be held as soon as possible, on a Sunday. Given the lack of available priests, the request was transmitted to the bishop, who was quick to accept the initiative and set the date for this Sunday the 26th.
The Torrents sanctuary church has been chosen for this ceremony, also following the tradition, which indicates this place as the one chosen in the past for requests for rain in the region.
