The first stone of the facilities of the Nou hospital evangèlic in Barcelona has been placed in a public ceremony attended by members of the board of trustees of the hospital and regional and local authorities.

The hospital is set to open in the first months of 2023.

Several officials and workers from the hospital and the authorities placed symbolic items in a transparent box. Among the objects are a photo and a stone from the current building, the blueprints of the one that is being built and two copies of the Bible, one in Spanish and the other in Catalan.

The container was then placed in a square hole dug in the building foundation.

“Evangelicals could have never imagined a space like this in the city of Barcelona”, said Jordi Urbea, member of the board of trustees of the foundation that manages the hospital. “We thank God that we have come this far”.

“We seek the welfare of the city”

The ceremonies began with a thank you from the manager of the Nou hospital evangèlic, Reyes Gualda, to the institutions, entities and people who collaborated in the building project. “And thanks to God, who controls time and history", she added.

Gualda also stressed the value that the new equipment will bring to the area in which it is located, the 22@ neighbourhood in the Sant Martí district. It is an area that has historically been home to a lot of industrial activity and which for years has been undergoing an architectural and social transformation.

Now it is an important area for business and financial activity. The Nou hospital evangèlic will be one of the few health centres in the area, filling an important gap.

The president of the hospital's board of trustees, Francisco Mira, made a brief review of the history of the hospital, with the several names and spaces that the institution has had since health care began in 1879 under the name of 'Evangelical Nursing of Barcelona'.

“The spirit is that of the text of Jeremiah 29:7, which says that we should ‘seek the welfare of the city’. Christians are pilgrims, we know that this is not the end, but we pray to God for Barcelona and we seek the well-being of the city”, pointed out Mira.

He also highlighted four aspects of the hospital's character of service: love, which Mira said has allowed selfless dedication; trust in God's empowerment because, he insisted, “we alone would not have been able to do this"; perseverance, which has been especially linked to the new project; and “excellence in vocation, profession and management”.

“We will uphold the values of holistic care and of people who take care of people, with our future hope. Soli Deo Gloria”, concluded the president of the hospital's board of trustees.

Institutional recognition

During the event, the manager of the Barcelona Health Consortium, on behalf of the regional government, Jaume Estany, highlighted the efforts of the Nou hospital evangèlic to move forward and also the fact that its new location will help cover an area lacking health facilities.
“Intermediate care is important. This was a city project and it is very good for the people of Barcelona”, he stated.

According to Estany, the process of moving to a new building, on a site that is publicly owned and with a temporary lease for 50 years, is a “sacrifice” for the hospital. He said he “was amazed that the Nou hospital evangèlic has sacrificed its heritage. This is of great value. You have made a sacrifice to carry out the mission. Thank you for your generosity and effort”.

Representing the Barcelona City Council, the Councillor for Children, Youth and the Elderly, Joan Ramon Riera, pointed out that “this new hospital comes at a time when we need good news”.

The renowned art critic Daniel Giralt-Miracle concluded the event with a prayer, underlining that the Nou hospital evangèlic project has also served to bring together different parts of society, a reason to give thanks. “That's why we pray”, he explained.