SUMMER IN MALLORCA
© 2001 by Maria Hubert von Staufer

Trips to the mountain villages,

sipping a cool drink in one of the attractive squares and watching the entertainers like the silver bullfighter statue in Plaza Major.

Or visit one of the magnificent churches in Palma, such as the great Franciscan monastery and basilica,

or the manor of 'La Granja' which is just a bus ride from Plaza Espaqa, with its many springs and verdant gardens.

Take a trip to the famous Caves of Drac and Hamm, with their stalactite formations, and the beautiful Porto Christo, with its church which, when the doors are open, appears to open straight onto the sea.

If you like mountains, walks, history and /or a bit of religious tradition, try a trip to the National Shrine of Lluc.

The Pilgrimage which Began in a Pub

God moves in strange ways indeed! This is a tale about a national pilgrimage some 20,000 strong, which began in 1974 in a Palma pub.

The usual group of locals were enjoying their evening drinks at Guells Bar just off the Aragon Road in Palma Mallorca. Tolo's daughter was serving soda, when the bottle suddenly exploded, sending shards of glass everywhere. It was a miracle that the girl was not hurt, not even the slightest scratch. A miracle indeed!

It's a miracle' shouted one imbiber. I don't suppose they really believed it was an actual miracle, they would be using the phrase much as we do in Britain. 'It's a miracle she survived in one piece,' we might say. Perhaps a remnant of a more simple piety, acknowledging God's hand in our everyday life. So what do pious Mallorcans do when they witness such an event? They make a pilgrimage to give thanks of course

The national pilgrimage shrine in Mallorca is that of our Lady of Lluc the 'Maroneta or 'Little brown lady', because the ancient statue is of a brown stone. Lluc is an old monastery set high in the mountains in the northern centre of the island. A favourite place for walkers today, but also the scene of many pilgrimage events during the year. Once teeming with monks, the enormous monastery now shelters visitors in its hostel accomodation, looked after by a small community of religious brothers ........

The legendary story of the finding of the statue goes back to the 14th century at least. It tells of the miraculous brown stone statue of Our Lady which was found in a rock by some children during a year of drought. The rock was also the source of a spring, the valley saved and the thanksgiving created the shrine. Such stories abound in the hills of Spain, where water is a permanent problem and the mountain springs a God-send. In the middle ages they were considered, literally a miracle from God..................................

Now enshrined in a simple chapel behind the church, Our Lady of Lluc is visited by many tens of thousands every year. The site is visited by local and international pilgrims, tourists and families enjoying a weekend excursion. The excellent restaurant set in the original monks refectory makes the place ideal for weddings, first communions, and special gatherings. In fact the Bishop of Mallorca treats his priests to their annual dinner there in June, preceded by a beautiful mass, usually accompanied by the 'Bluets' the Lluc choir of young boys, which in my opinion is every bit as good as the Vienna Boys, only less well travelled!

I was introduced to the pub pilgrimage by a friend of mine who is a military chaplain in Mallorca. He was to perform a short memorial service for a young soldier who had died whilst serving the pilgrimage. The military began assisting the pilgrimage five years after it began, in 1979. By then it had grown to proportions where the mounting of tables, delivery of extra water up the many hairpin bends, and other services, became quite a feat in itself, and was acomplished by military exercise.

A young conscriptee, Antoni Herrera was returning down the mountain after the delivery of water. With an uneven load, his tanker rolled on the steep hairpins, and he was killed. This 19 year old boy gave his life not in the service of his King and country as one might suppose of a soldier, but in the service of his God and Church, and thus became a symbol of the piety and faith of the Mallorcan people who make the pilgrimage. Each year a memorial service is held near the place where he was killed. Maybe we are seeing the evolution of another traditional event.

Through the auspices of the chaplain, I was able to attend this service. We arrived in the shady dell half way up the mountain, at 9.30am. A few cars were already there. The small stone memorial was erected alongside the stepped pathway which the pilgrims take up to the shrine. Above the formal inscription is a small brass plaque with a simple memorial from the boys family. It reads: ' If valor has a name, it is... Antoni Herrero, and is love has a memory my son, we love you'. Soldier Herrero's parents, Amador and Eusebio and their other son Eusebio come every year from the mainland of Spain to lay their cross of carnations at the memorial along with tributes from the Army, and other officials and sponsors of the pilgrimage. After the short service of prayers, the trumpeter plays a Last Post, but a specially compose3d arrangement especially for young Antoni. One can imagine in 50 years time, the event being a main part of the pilgrimage, the visit to the memorial of the soldier martyr who died in service to the pilgrimage!

This short but moving event begins the pilgrimage from Guell to Lluc on foot, which begins the following evening at the spot where Guells bar used to be. It now lies under the shiny building of a bank, but on this day, the 4th August every year, thousands gather for dancing and a right merry send off by the leaders of the Government of the Baleares, and the Palma town Council . The 48 kilometer walk takes all night, and people leave at around 11pm, arriving, depending on their state of fitness, between 7am and 10am on the Sunday morning. Other pilgrim travel from different parts of Mallorca as the walkers travel through the villages of central Mallorca. Many young people do it for the prestige of saying they have done the Guell to Lluc walk, and have the diploma to prove it!

From its humble beginning of thirty pilgrims - of which, Tolo Guell tells me, only seven arrived, fortified on their journey at all the bars on the way! - this 28th pilgrimage year will see some 20,000 pilgrims. Apart from the support of the local and national government, and the Military forces of the Baleares, the event has sponsorship from the major Mallorcan enterprises such as the supermarket chain SYP, and the bank Sa Nostra as well as attracting major international sponsorship such as Coca-Cola. Early the following morning you can see thousands of these weary pilgrims stretched out on makeshift newspaper beds (to give protection from ants and other creepy crawlies!) on the lawns in front of the monastery.

There is an electric excitement in attending such a huge event, which seems to be growing annually. But for those who might like to go to Lluc without the crowds, there are other events during the year, and even a quiet trip by car to this 700 year old pilgrimage shrine is a delight. If you plan well in advance you can even stay at the hostel, which is in the renovated monks dwellings set around a shady courtyard or cloister garth. The walks around the monastery are stunning, even the simple walk up through the woods following the Way of the Cross, 'The Misteries' is worth the trip, with views down in the the boat shaped valley below. I am not much of a walker, but I enjoyed the peacefulness of the 'Misteries', and the lovely drive through the centre of this often mis-described island, which, once you get away from the beach resorts carries on much as it has done for the past thousand years, an island of peace.

You can visit the monastery from the following sites. The first is all in Mallorquin at present but they have other languages under construction It is a full history and guided tour. Will be an excellent site when it's all up:
http://www.lluc.net/cat/index.html

http://www.jorga-interactive.de/Reisen/majo/bild5.html This site will take you on a picture tour of the area, taken by a German visitor.

Further information available from Maria on 01600-772371. Email contact us

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