At Collegio Sant’Anselmo we have the joyful and instructive custom of celebrating Mass in a foreign language once a month. The Masses and subsequent festive suppers are organised by our Language Groups and serve as a multicultural exposure to their home countries.

On 20 January, the feast of Saint Sebastian, we celebrated Mass in Catalan, courtesy of the Iberian / Latin-American Language Group. The Mass itself was celebrated in Catalan, but Spanish and Portugese were included in the chants, readings and intentions. The Mass was presided over by the president of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, Jordi-Agustí Piqué, of the Abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain.

After Mass, the community celebrated a festive meal with the traditional Catalan tapas Pa amb tomaquet i pernil, (tomato and ham bruschetta); Espinacs a la Catalana, (Catalanian spinach); Seques amb butifarra, (beans and sausages); and a dessert of Crema Catalana, (Catalan cream). Afterward, each Language Group gathered and socialised in various meeting rooms throughout the Collegio.