Close Look at the Basilica of San Lorenzo de Real at El Escorial
My visit to El Escorial have been marked with numerous frustrations. The first one was that I was hardly able to get any photos of the interior of the main building. Visitors are allowed to take photos of the hallways but once inside, it is no longer allowed. Most of the rooms I was able to enter were turned into art galleries for the massive collection of art which they have amassed through the years. I found myself outside and at the Courtyard of the Kings where I was waiting for Holy Mass. It was Holy Thursday and I wanted to attend Mass. I was told that it would be at seven in the evening, hopefully that won’t get me into trouble heading back to Madrid.
Courtyard of the Kings at El Escorial
The Basilica of San Lorenzo el Real is where the Mass will be celebrated. It is a massive church and a bit disproportional to the number or residents here in the area. It seems that the basilica was built for the royal residents of El Escorial, pretty handy to have a basilica all to yourself. As you can imagine it was massive and the features of the church make you feel very small. Considering that El Escorial is build on a rather sparsely populated area, I was surprised to see the basilica full and that there were hardly any seats available. It seems most of these people were tourists probably one day drip from Madrid. I managed to secure a seat but I can’t see anything in front with the massive pillar in front of me. The basilica itself is a sight to behold and I would have wanted to take photos afterwards. But there was a no photographs sign in the church as well. While I known enough not to take photos during Mass, but forbidding it outside of the Mass is a bit too much. As for the Holy Mass, it was mysterious to be hearing Mass in a different language. This would be the first time I heard mass spoken in Spanish, some parts I do understand and it helps that I know roughly where we were in the liturgy. Some key words I would be able to understand so it wasn’t totally incomprehensible to me.
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