This project is a joint effort between the Diocese of Mallorca and the Fundación El Instante.
On November 8 at 7:30 PM, the Parish of Santa Creu in Palma will host an exceptional mass, where contemporary art and liturgy merge in a unique act of introspection and remembrance: Demasiado Tarde, a requiem mass conceived by the artist José María Sicilia. Officiated by the Bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Taltavull, this ceremony revives the ancient and nearly forgotten tradition of the Church inviting artists to collaborate in the creation of sacred rites—an act that moves between the innovative and the ancestral, challenging conventions and forging new paths for art and spirituality.
Inspired by an original, dawn-like text written by Sicilia himself, Demasiado Tarde is a meditation on time, light, life, and death. Sicilia explores the notion that “one does not die” and that, in facing death, it dissolves. His libretto leads us into a deep contemplation interweaving the thoughts of Plotinus, Leibniz, Deleuze, and Edgar Allan Poe in a series of fragments that confront human finitude and the desire for eternity. The mass becomes an act of introspection, a space where “too late” transforms into presence, and the past takes shape in the here and now.
The set design, chants, and ecclesiastical attire have been meticulously crafted by Sicilia, symbolically inviting attendees to experience the ritual in a state of reflection and poetic resonance. Music will be performed by the Studium Chamber Choir and the Escolanía dels Blavets de Lluc, whose presence will bring a soundscape that evokes both the rhythm of the living and the circle of those who have passed.
As a prelude to this mass, philosopher Francisco Jarauta will offer a lecture titled “Ornament and Liturgy” on November 7 at 7:30 PM in the Crypt of Sant Llorenç. His talk will open a dialogue on the symbolism and power of ritual elements in religious tradition, connecting them with the artistic creation of this singular ceremony.
Demasiado Tarde is not only a mass but an event that invites us to look beyond death, to contemplate the invisible thread that links the earthly and the transcendent, to pause at the origin and suspension where narrative begins. Through this mass, Fundación El Instante and the Diocese of Mallorca offer a space of mystery and reflection, where words, sound, and silence connect us to a dimension of the sacred that transcends time.
