“This church belongs to the popular classes of Barcelona,” defends the local councillor of the CUP Joan Suqué, justifying the request for “its spiritual and religious disuse.”

The anti-capitalist group also affirms that the cathedral contributes “implicitly and explicitly” to the mass tourism invasion  of the old part of the city of Barcelona and that it is a building owned by an institution that “has been at the service of monarchies and bourgeoisies, carrying out processes of colonization, slavery, moralization and control of the proletariat. It’s time to give them historical justice!” added the anti-capitalist politician.

Barcelona Cathedral, is a Gothic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. The cathedral was constructed from the 13th to 15th centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th century. The side Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and of the Holy Christ of Lepanto contains a cross said to date from the time of the Battle of Lepanto (1571). The Battle of Lepanto won by the Holy League marked  the turning-point and almost the end of Ottoman military expansion into the Mediterranean.