9. Presbytery and Apse

Contemplate the eastern end of the church. The main apse opens before you. Here you will find the High Altar, considered the largest in Catalonia. It is the place where the church’s most sacred act takes place. For this reason, the entire architecture of the building converges towards this central point.

The apse was built around 1150, during the Romanesque period. At that time, the large window that now fills this space with light did not yet exist. Instead, there was a much smaller opening, similar to those still visible on either side.

Today we admire the beauty of the exposed stone, but the men and women of the Romanesque age did not see this apse as we do. For them, the stone was like an artist’s canvas. The whole space was covered with frescoes that transformed the apse into a representation of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

At the centre of this great painted composition, there was most likely an image of the Risen Christ as Pantocrator, presiding over the celebration of the Eucharist.

Now look up towards the upper part of the apse. The seven ribs structuring the vault meet in a semicircle, an architectural gesture rich in meaning. It evokes what takes place during Mass: heaven opens, and the Spirit of God descends upon the bread and wine, transforming them into the Body and Blood of Christ.

By around 1350, when our church was completed, artistic taste had shifted towards the Gothic style. This new architecture sought to create buildings filled with light, where even the stone seemed to shine. Light was understood as a reflection of God’s presence. As a result, walls were no longer conceived as vast painted surfaces but opened instead into large windows. In this way, the whole interior of the church became a radiant space, an image of the Church in Heaven.

For this reason, the monks drastically altered the apse by opening the immense Gothic window that you see today. If you look carefully at the surrounding stonework, you can still recognise traces of this intervention.

The present stained-glass window, dating from the 1940s, depicts Saint Peter the Apostle, patron saint of this parish, preaching to his disciples. At the top, you can recognise his attributes as the first Pope: the papal tiara and the keys.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the apse underwent another major transformation. The Renaissance painter Àine Brú created a vast altarpiece for this space, which stood above the altar for more than four hundred years. It remained there until its destruction during the Spanish Civil War.

Finally, in 1942, the sculptor Enric Monjo created the image of Saint Cucuphas that now presides over the High Altar.

Saint Cucuphas is the earliest known martyr of the Church of Barcelona. For centuries he was also patron saint of the city. Following the Christian reconquest, his relics were brought to this monastery, where they have remained ever since, making it the main place of his memory.

As you contemplate this space, remember that almost nine hundred years of history unfold before you. Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and contemporary art all coexist within a single apse, bearing witness to the generations who, century after century, have sought to enrich and beautify this central place within the church.