Modernist Chapel

About the Chapel

The Tibidabo Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus houses a piece of Catalan Modernist art, restored by the Salesian Father Antonio Pardo. The history of this chapel begins in 1909, when Lutgarda Gener, daughter of the businessman Josep Gener, commissioned Joan Busquets i Jané to build two chapels: one for her residence in Barcelona and another for the Gener Palace in l’Arboç del Penedès.

Busquets’ workshop had received significant commissions throughout his career from Catalan bourgeois clients and various institutions, although the creation of these chapels was considered one of his most important works. He collaborated with other artists such as Josep Pey, a painter and decorator who designed the marquetry for the chapel in l’Arboç, as well as some murals in the Parliament of Catalonia.

Once constructed, and before being placed in the Gener Palace, the chapel was exhibited at Casa Busquets on Passeig de Gràcia, where several artists praised the magnificence of the work. It is dedicated to the Sorrowful Virgin, who presides over the chapel from the altar.

In 1949, the Gener Palace of the Arboç came into the hands of the Salesian Congregation, which used it as a novitiate or formation house for young people beginning their Salesian journey. During the twenty years the Salesians remained in the Gener house, the chapel was kept intact. However, in 1969, before the Salesians relinquished the building, the cabinetmakers from the Salesian workshops in Sarrià dismantled the chapel to ensure its preservation, as the Gener Palace was to be completely renovated into a private school-residence.

In 2014, Father Antonio Pardo envisioned that one of the spaces within the Tibidabo Temple could house Busquets’ work. After arranging the transfer of the chapel pieces and adapting the space, he personally oversaw the reconstruction. Today, the chapel can be visited by those using the Temple’s hospitality services, whether to celebrate Mass, participate in prayer gatherings, or enjoy its artistic contemplation.