Sacred Heart Missionaries to leave Lluc Sancturary

THE Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are to leave the Lluc Sanctuary after 128 years as custodians of the spiritual centre of Mallorca.
Known as the ‘coritos’, the congregation has now dwindled to just six priests aged 73 and over.
This has apparently made their functions ‘untenable’, and last month the decision was made to return Lluc Sanctuary building to the Bishophric of Mallorca, which also owns the Blavets school, restaurants and the car park.
The Bisophric has expressed ‘surprise and pain’ at the announcement, but assured that the Lluc will continue to be the island’s spiritual heart, as it has been since the thirteenth century.
After the Cathedral, Lluc is the second most visited religious site in Mallorca, and the Bisophric wants it to remain a place of pilgrimage.
The exit of the ‘cositos’ will not be immediate. The transition is expected to take place within six months to a year.