Worship
The basilica was built as a place of worship and even today, it is still its main function.
Presentation
The life of man has had, has and always will have inevitable questions about itself. Deep questions that are not silenced no matter how much we try or ignore them: Who am I? Does my life make sense? What is the purpose of my life?
In Jesus we have found the way. He gives us the hope that fills our lives with meaning. “We are offered salvation in the sense that we have been given hope, a reliable hope, through which we can face our present: the present, even if it is a tiring present, can be lived and accepted if it leads to a goal, if we can be sure of that goal and if that goal is so great that it justifies the effort of the way “(Spe Salvi no. 1). In God, we have a hope that changes the depth of our present life.
The parish Saint Mary of Manresa is a community formed by people of all kinds united by the purpose of walking in Hope, of following the Way opened by Jesus, dead and risen. In Him we have experienced the presence of a God who loves and makes us love; a God who is given us totally free-of-charge. We are called to match his love for the ways of faith, hope and charity.
Community life unfolds in three movements:
- The announcement inward (catechesis and training) and outward (evangelization or testimony).
- Celebration of the sacraments: baptism, eucharist, confirmation, penance (reconciliation), anointing of the sick, priesthood and marriage.
- Charity, the expression of mercy: grateful for what we have received, we share for free.
In these ways, God is filling our lives. Human beings have an infinite thirst for the absolute which can only approach their Creator.
Priest Joan Hakolimana has been the Rector of the Seu since 2017, with the aim of serving all those who need it.
The canon’s chapter
The existence of a community of clergymen in the church of Saint Mary of Manresa with the dual mission of attending the religious demands and the spiritual needs of the parishioner is very old, but it is not known when it was founded. The first documents referring to Manresa’s canons date to the first half of the 11th century. The canonical of Manresa followed the rules of the Carolingian Reformation, but it was not a regular community until the end of the 11th century. The Canons of Manresa, like those in Vic, were secular clergy and the total community living in a building did not exist. At the end of the 11th century, the reforming action of Bishop Berenguer Sunifred led to a profound change in the organization and lifestyle of the canonical Saint Mary of Manresa that began to govern, on October 30 1099, by the rules of the Rule said of St. Augustine. The old Aachen canonical was thus Augustinian canonical, as were those of Sant Joan of the Abadesses and Sant Tomàs of Riudeperes, reformed a few years earlier by the Prelate himself, or that of Santa Maria of Estany, which was a very active center of the clerical renewal of the country. The canonical community of Manresa was governed by a preposition that had the title of abbot but was known as the “paborde”. The canons were twelve and distributed the duties of prior, sacristy (responsible for worship), waiter (administrator), precentor (computer of singing), nurse and rector of St. Michael. In addition there were two domestic chaplains in charge of soul care.
On August 13 1592, Clement VIII decreed the secularization of Manresa’s canonical, making it a collegiate church dependent on the bishopric of Vic but with a certain character of a diocesan cathedral. A couple of papal documents – a copy of Clement VIII and a brief from Pope Innocent X – were required to declare that none of the qualities, jurisdictions, dignities or benefits of the suppressed canonical disappeared with their transformation into a secular collegiate church, the main dignity that corresponded to the Paborde.
Under Article 21 of the 1851 Concordate between the Holy Seu and Spain, Manresa’s Collegiate was suppressed, like all other Catalan collegiates. While the treaty was being drafted, efforts were made to preserve the Collegiate Church of Manresa in its restructuring. On August 7th 1883, the Holy Seu created four honorary canons. On December 5th 1884, a Brief Pontifical returned the title of Collegiate Church to Santa Maria of the Seu, perpetually granting “each and every one of the rights, privileges, prerogatives and pre-eminences which they enjoy or may enjoy in future churches other distinguished churches with the same title”. On that same date, the number of canons was increased to eight, in addition to the Chapter Presidency (Source: Gasol JM, La Seu de Manresa. 1978).
Masses and ceremonies
In 304, during the persecution of Diocletian, a group of Christians in North Africa were surprised as they celebrated Mass at a house and were arrested. During interrogation, the Roman proconsul asked them why they did this, knowing that it was absolutely forbidden, and they said,: “Without Sunday we cannot live”.
The Eucharist is the heart and summit of the life of the Church because in it Christ associates his Church and all its members with its Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered to the Father once and for all in the cross (CEC 1407). Hence the name Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. It is also called Mass (sending) because the liturgy ends with the farewell and sending of the faithful (mission) to fulfill the will of God in each day’s life.
Monday to Saturday at 10am.
Sunday at 11am.
Every day at 7pm.
(in July and August this mass is cancelled)
Baptisms
Baptism is the foundation of all Christian life, the portico of life in the Spirit and the door that opens access to other sacraments. Through Baptism we are liberated from sin and regenerated as children of God, we become members of Christ, we are incorporated into the Church and are participants in its mission. It is called Baptism because of the central ritual in which it is realized: baptizing (in Greek baptizein) means to immerse. (CEC 1213-1214).
Baptisms are performed at the Baptistery of the Seu, a quiet and beautiful space, built for this purpose.
Timetables: Saturday from 11am to 1pm and from 4pm to 6pm (except Lent Saturdays).
Communions
It is the first experience of spiritual revelation in a state of consciousness experienced by a Catholic. Therefore, it marks the beginning of the conscious spiritual relationship between the believer and Jesus. During the ceremony, the person receives the communion (the body and blood of Jesus) for the first time and is expected to repeat this event as often as he or she wants and throughout his or her life.
Confirmations
Confirmation perfects baptismal grace; it is the sacrament that the Holy Spirit gives to root us more deeply in divine filiation, to draw us more firmly to Christ, to strengthen our bond with the Church, to associate ourselves more with his mission and to help us to bear witness to the Christian faith by the word accompanied by the works.
Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints in the soul of the Christian a spiritual signal or indelible character; for that reason, this sacrament can only be received once in life.
The essential rite of Confirmation is the anointing with the holy chrism on the baptized front (in the East also on other sense organs), with the imposition of the minister’s hand and the words: “Receive the sign of gift of the Holy Spirit”.
When Confirmation is celebrated separately from Baptism, its connection to Baptism is expressed by the renewal of baptismal commitments. Holding the Confirmation within the Eucharist helps underscore the unity of the sacraments of Christian initiation.
Weddings
It is a sacrament by which a baptized couple commits to love, help one another, and live together. The priest is the witness of this union on behalf of the church in which two people are married.
Weddings are held on Saturday from 11am to 1pm and from 4pm to 6pm.
Training
Children Catechesis
Monday and Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm, in the Parochial Premises of the Baixada de la Seu and in the “Convent de les Filles de Sant Josep.
Adults permanent training
– Every second Wednesday of the month, at 9.30pm. at the Parochial Premises.
– Every third Thursday of the month, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm, in the Casal de l’Església (carrer Era del Firmat 1, Manresa).
If you need more information about the parish you can call us (+34 93 872 15 12) or email the priest (laseudemanresa@gmail.com).
Parish groups and entities
Night adoration
The Association for the “Exposition and Night Worship of the Blessed Sacrament” was set up in Paris on December 6, 1848, under the auspices of the religious Brother Hermann and Mons. Francisco de la Bouillerie, bishop of Carcassonne, then vicar general of the diocese of Paris, whose worshipers, persevering in the glorious light of the Eucharist at night, are actually awaiting the dawn of eternal life, of which precisely ‘The Eucharist is an early and very faithful pledge. Again to the holy Host, we hear again those sweet words: “Come to me, all the ones who are weary and afflicted, and I will make you rest” (Mt 11:28). “The soul that has known the love of its divine Master needs to remain long in front of the consecrated Host and to adopt, in the presence of the humility of God, a very humble and deeply respectful attitude” (Pius XII).
In the eucharistic and nighttime worship, the faithful unite deep in the sacrifice of redemption – the absolute center of wakefulness – accompany Jesus in his nightly and painful Gethsemane prayer: “Stay here and watch over me … Watch and pray, do not fall into temptation. -Go here and watch over me … Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation … Full of anguish, he prayed more intensely, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Mt 26 , 38.41; Luke 22:44).
The worshipers praise the Lord and give thanks to him and on the eve of the night, pay close attention to the Lord of glory, what came, what is coming and what is going to come: “Happy are those servants whom the lord, when he comes, will find. Truly I tell you, he will fasten, make them sit at a table, and serve them. If he comes at midnight or in the morning, he will find them happy”. (Luke 12,37-38).
Chapel of music (1611)
The Music Chapel of the Seu is an entity with more than 400 years of history rooted in the basilica and the city of Manresa. It was established in 1611 with the aim of enhancing liturgical celebrations with music and singing. The Chapel is currently collaborating on a number of parish and city celebrations, and is the oldest such practice in Catalonia.
The “Capella Masters” are accurately documented. There is some overlap between teachers, because the retired teacher retained ownership of the position until his death, coexisting with his successor. The title of Capella Master was created in Manresa on August 27, 1611.
- 1625-1631 Jaume Canyelles
- 1632-1635 Joan Bernat Servitja
- 1635-1643 Francisco Fadre
- 1643-1654 Pere Estruch
- 1655-1656 Francisco Fadre
- 1656-1659 Anton Pelegri
- 1659-1661 Sebastià Carreras
- 1661-1662 Ignasi Oller
- 1662-1682 Pere Carbonell
- 1682-1684 Francisco March
- 1684-1695 Jaume Subias
- 1696-1699 Joan Bernat
- 1699-1700 Carles Subias
- 1700-1702 Francesc Espelt
- 1702-1725 Pere March
- 1725-1726 Sebastià Viladrosa
- 1726-1727 Pere Comalat
- 1727-1731 Joan Mir
- 1731-1762 Josep Masvasí
- 1762-1763 Salvador Dachs
- 1763-1809 Joan Patzí
- 1809-1845 Caietà Mensa
- 1845-1855 Marià Matarrodona and Lluís Prunés
- 1855-1890 Francesc Escorsell
- 1890-1919 Marià Torras i Serarols
- 1919-1936 Miquel Augé Vila
- 1939-1957 Eudald Pla Fonts
- 1957-1965 Agustí Coll Herbera
- 1965-1966 Pere Claret Juncadella
- 1966-1997 Ignasi Torras Garcia
- 1997-1998 Bernat Vivancos Farràs
- 1998-2007 Marc Marcet Sanz
- 2007-2008 Lluís Cano
- 2008-2009 equip format per Marc Marcet, Maria Josep Garriga, Oriol Torras and Joan Ballús
- 2009-now Mireia Subirana Pintó
* Source: Josep M. Vilar , The Music at the Seu of Manresa in the 18th Century”. Centre d’Estudis del Bages 1990.
Comission of the Holy Burial of Sait Friday
In 1950, the procession of the Holy Burial of Sait Friday was restored in Manresa, organized by the Brotherhood of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which despite having its origins in the 16th century, had been stopped from 1868 to 1978. In 2000, the Brotherhood was recoverd until the present day.
Repairing Association of Pius IX or Bearers
It was erected canonically at the Seu of Manresa on May 10th, 1879.
Confraria Immaculate Conception (1489)
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed on December 8, 1854, by the Ineffabilis Deus Bull of Pope Pius IX. However, devotion to the Most Pure dates much earlier. From the beginning of Christianity, the worship of Mary has been shaped by countless artistic representations. The first reference to the Immaculate Conception is from 1128.That year, the canons of Lyon decided to sanctify the celebration of December 8, the day of the conception of Saint Ana. In Spain, it seems likely that in 1309 the party was already held in Santiago de Compostela and in 1369 in Seville.
Numerous people, congregations and sororities voted in perpetuity for the defense of the Immaculate Conception, some communities materializing it the foundation of a brotherhood. One of these places was Manresa. The Brotherhood, known by the popular name “Brotherhood of the Favets”, was founded in 1489 and got the title of “Royal” by grant of Charles I, in 1536.
Confraria of the Pilar
The Virgin of the Pillar is one of the multiple Marian invocations of Christendom. The image has its main center of worship in the Basilica of the Pillar of Zaragoza (Spain).
On May 20, 1642, the municipality of Zaragoza proclaimed the Virgin of the Pillar patroness of the city, patronage that extended throughout the Kingdom of Aragon in the Aragonese Courts of 1678. It accumulates other patronages, such as the Corps of the Civil Guard (1913), Corps of Posts and Telegraphs (1916), Corps of secretaries, interveners and depositories of local administration (1928), Mariological Society (1940), Superior Council of Missions (1948) and the Submarine Corps of the Spanish Armada (1946). In 1908, by Royal Decree, she is declared Captain-General of the Spanish Army. On June 24, 1948, Pilar XII (1948) was elevated to the category of Basilica.
According to the legend, in the year 40, the Virgin Mary, who then lived in Jerusalem, appeared in Zaragoza to the apostle James, encouraging him in his preaching; she appeared on a stone pillar, which stood as a witness of the miracle and has since been preserved in the church that stands in honor of the Virgin, the current basilica. The shrine dedicated to the Virgin of the Pilar in Zaragoza is one of the most famous shrines in Spain and is considered to be the oldest church dedicated to Mary in Christianity.
The current church was built in 1681 and is a gigantic building decorated with marble, bronze and silver by well-known artists. Inside of the Holy Chapel there is a small wooden statue of the Virgin dressed in precious ornaments in an alabaster column.
Royal and Venerable Congregation of the good Death and Dance of the Death (1832)
It was founded on May 23, 1832, with the aim of offering suffrage for the victims of the “Three Oaks”, a place between the municipalities of Bruc (Anoia) and Sant Salvador de Guardiola (Bages) where on 17 November 1822, during a series of insurrections during the Liberal Triennium, 24 people were shot, many of them religious. The bodies are currently buried in a tomb in the central aisle of the nave of the Basilica of the Seu of Manresa.
Approved by the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, the Statutes with which this Congregation should be governed and named its Administrative Board, celebration took place, with great solemnity, the first religious functions in memory and suffrage of the souls of those twenty victims.
A year later, on Ash Wednesday, 1833 the first of the processions of the ‘Good Death’ with a predominantly penitential character took place.
All the congregants and devotees who attended were dressed in a penitent manner and accompanied others with burning candles. They left the Seu with great gathering and silence, going through the main streets and squares they headed to the church of Sant Pere Màrtir (known as the church of “Sant Domingo”, destroyed during the Civil War, 1936-39).
Confraria Esperança Macarena
It was officially founded in Seville on November 23, 1595, the day the founding rules were approved by the canon, provost and general vicar of the Archdiocese of Seville, Iñigo de Lesiñana. It was founded by the devotee Fray Bernardo de la Cruz, of the Congregation of San Bausili. His charisma was directed to charity with the poor and the sick and to the cultivation of the soul through spiritual exercises and practice of penance. The personality of the Brotherhood is defined in its rules.
RULE I: This Association of Faithists is called “Real, illustrious and fervent brotherhood and confaria of Nazarenes of the mother of God of the Holy Rosary, our father Jesus of the Sentence and Maria Santísima de la Esperanza Macarena”, and has its canonical headquarters in the Basilica of Santa Maria de la Esperanza Macarena in the city of Seville.
RULE II: As a public association of worshipers, the main and specific purpose of this Brotherhood is to promote, to pay tribute and to spread public and solemn worship to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, considering the pains of the Passion of her Divine Son, especially the bitter moment of the unjust sentence of death pronounced against who is Supreme judge of the Humanity and, at the same time, foster the worship of the Holy Rosary, through the contemplation of its Mysteries and the extension of this devotion, grouping all the baptized who want to give rise to their life by means of internal and external worship, encouraging them to a greater knowledge and experience of the Message of Jesus, within the local Christian community and at the service of the Universal Church.
RULE III: This Brotherhood will have as the motto the answer of Christ to Pilate in the Praetorium: “I am the truth” and the phrase of the Salve “Hope ours, save” of which the Holy Rosary and its Litany is constant song.
Confraria of the Dolors (1740)
Mother of God of the Dolors, founded in 1704 in the church of Sant Miquel, it was transferred to the Seu after the Three-Year War, during which the old temple was destroyed.
She is also known as the Virgin of Bitterness, Our Lady of Mercy, Our Lady of Anguishes or La Dolorosa. Its celebration is the 15th of September and her normal clothes are black or purple.
The advocation of the “Dolors” emphasizes the feeling of pain of the mother in front of the suffering of her child. The “seven pains” refer to the seven episodes of the life of Jesus Christ that made Mary suffer and who accompanied her son on his mission as Redeemer:
- Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2: 22-35).
- Persecution of Herod and escape to Egypt (Mt 2: 13-15).
- Jesus lost three days in the Temple (Luke 2: 41-50).
- Mary encounters Jesus carrying his cross.
- The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19: 17-30).
- Mary receives the body of Jesus in her arms (Mc15, 42-46).
- The burial of Jesus (John 19: 38-42).
Confraria of the Saint Bodies
Founded by the Royal Privileged Guild of Peter III on July 15, 1379. Restored in 1901 and now extincted.
Confraria of the Minerva (1560)
Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament or “La Minerva”. Established at the Seu in August 1560. The members of the Brotherhood of the Minerva organized the Corpus Christi, one of the most popular celebrations in the festive calendar of the city of Manresa.
Confraria of Nazarene (1960)
Every first Friday of March, the feast of Jesus of Medinaceli is celebrated in the church of Sant Ramon of Penyafort in Madrid. On Friday the 5th of May 1945, the image of Jesus of Nazareth was framed with red roses and the worshipers went in to pray and candle him. This is the beginning of the devotion to the image and the steps towards the future brotherhood, in the small Basilica of the Capuchins in Madrid where we can find the carving of Jesus Nazarene of Medinaceli.
The devotion to this image is huge and has increased since 1945 at the Port of Sóller. In the same year, Emilio Fernández-Segade Sánchez was the second officer of the Admiral Miranda based in the Port of Sóller. He and his wife, Ramona Millán Ávila, were originally from Madrid and great devotees of Jesus of Medinaceli. Emilio, a good friend of the Port’s economist, Father Joan Sueca Miralles, decided to give the church of Sant Ramon of Penyafort an image of the Nazarene. This image was taken at the Port by her sisters, Manuela and Carmen, and was completely uploaded by Emilio. A promise made by Ramona, Manuela and Carmen meant that, after the civil war, all three would wear the habit of Medinaceli, every single day. Some people still remember them wandering in their purple suit and golden lace.
Years later, when Mn. Joan Sueca was destined to Vileta, Emilio Fernández-Segade gave another image of the Nazarene to the aforementioned temple. This image is smaller than the one in Port of Sóller. In 1960, the then economist of the Port, Josep Morey Vicens founded the brotherhood of Jesus of Nazarene in the Port of Sóller.