A Catholic church in Barcelona has offered its open-air cloisters to Muslims in the city for them to eat and pray together as their usual indoor venues are closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Every evening, between 50 and 60 Muslims, including some who are homeless, gather in the Santa Anna church where volunteers offer a meal of home-cooked food. 

"We are all the same. If you are Catholic or of another religion and I am Muslim, that's fine," said one of the attendees, Hafid Oubrahim. 

"We are all like brothers and we must help each other, too." 

During the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims do not eat between sunrise and sundown, breaking their fast only at sunset with a meal called Iftar.

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Faouzia Chati, president of the Catalan Association of Moroccan Women, has experienced firsthand how the coronavirus pandemic has changed Ramadan this year and in 2020. Having organized Iftar gatherings in the past, the current health crisis has forced her and other Muslims to seek an alternative space with good ventilation and room for social distancing. 

"People are very happy that Muslims can do Iftar in a Catholic church, because religions serve to unite us, not to separate us," said Chati, speaking of the late-night gatherings in the church.  

Father Peio Sanchez of Santa Anna church said: "Even with different cultures, different languages, different religions, we are more capable of sitting talking than some politicians." He added that the meeting of different faiths in such a way is emblematic of civic coexistence in society. 

Video producer: Katherine Berjikian 

Video editor: Pedro Duarte