The 50th anniversary of the death of Francisco Franco has attracted a large group of teenagers and twenty-somethings to the mass that those nostalgic for the dictator have dedicated to him, as they have been doing for years, in the Parish of the Twelve Apostles on Velázquez Street in Madrid. The ceremony has brought together generations of all ages, to the surprise of some regular veterans of 20-N. “It is the first time that there are more young people than old,” an elderly parishioner shared joyfully while the line to receive communion, lasting more than 10 minutes, was full of young people and stretched to the end of the temple. according to a 40dB survey. for EL PAÍS and Cadena SER.
The family of the dictator and the Francisco Franco National Foundation, summoned the old and new generation Francoists at eight in the afternoon, asking for “a prayer for his soul” and highlighting in an obituary that “he died in a Christian way in the service of the country.” “As always, maximum respect is requested in the development of this religious act,” the organization requested. The attendees behaved in the church in an act that lasted just over half an hour and in which the priest avoided giving the typical homily in memory of the deceased. The only direct allusion was at the beginning, when it was remembered that the mass was “for Francisco Franco.” All this meditation gave way to a burst of proclamations to the tyrant seasoned with Cara al Sol and other songs in the narrow access to the street.
The moment of greatest tension occurred when two Femen activists burst bare-chested into the crowd that was crowded at the entrance of the church while chanting the slogans “Legal fascism, national shame” and “To fascism, neither honor nor glory,” which they wore on their banners and on their bodies. A vendor at a stall merchandising To the greater glory of Franco and the founder of the Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, he has persecuted the activists and touched their chests in front of the media.
Several journalists have been scolded while thundering “Spanish press, manipulative!”, the same chant of the most radical independentists during the process.
At seven thirty there were no more free seats in the church. The first blow was visual, seasoned by the strong smell of incense that permeated the atmosphere. “I didn’t expect this, there’s no room for anything, Conchita,” said a surprised octogenarian to a friend. On each of the 36 benches on the central floor, placed in two rows, six or seven were squeezed together. Around 200 other people followed the mass standing on the sides and on the upper floor, where they were mostly from Generation Z and, to a lesser extent, millenials.
The most devout pointed out the two recommended readings for the week: “With your perseverance you will save your souls”, from the Gospel of Luke, and “No one in the vision of God can sin”, from Mother Trinidad, founder and president of The Work of the Church linked to the parish chosen one more year by the Francisco Franco Foundation to pay tribute to the autocrat on a date as round as the 50th anniversary of his death.
