While some cultures dance to invoke rain, others revere special figures. The practice of rain-making rituals and prayers goes back centuries and can be found in many different cultures and religions around the world.
On Sunday, around 250 residents of L’Espunyola brought back the faded practice of a special Mass and procession to pray to Our Lady of the Torrents, a local virgin associated with rainfall.
When Josep Altarriba looks across his parched fields, the Spanish farmer can’t remember a time of such widespread drought in Catalonia. If it doesn’t rain in the next two weeks, he says there’s little chance of saving the harvest. What can be done? For the mountain villagers of L’Espunyola, the answer is divine intervention. On…