Passing by the parish of Sant Isidor, on Urgell street, between Provença and Mallorca, it is difficult to identify it as a religious building. It doesn't look like one, beyond a few clues on the facade. The reason for this fact is explained by the past of this parish, which had previously housed the Unión Cooperativa Barcelonesa el Reloj y la Solidaridad, according to its rector, Father Enric Termes. Before the Civil War, this cooperative space, where one could have a drink and cultural activities were held, was one of the most popular in the city. After the war, it continued to function and, due to financial problems, the Archbishopric of Barcelona ended up buying the building in the sixties and installed a parish in it that, since its creation in 1945, had been on Rosselló street.
The building will now be demolished to build a reference center in health technological innovation, led by Hospital Clínic and Leitat, and with the participation of the University of Barcelona (UB), Hospital Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona, and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS). The future Clinical Advanced Technologies Institute (CATI) aims to promote technological knowledge in the field of digital health and ensure its transfer to industry.
The general director of Hospital Clínic, Dr. Josep M. Campistol, states that the impulse of CATI is "a great opportunity to coordinate projects between multinationals, local companies, and entrepreneurship to generate joint technology and new business models with private funding, which can also support startups and empower local SMEs." In this sense, the technical director of Advanced Therapies at Clínic and medical director of Leitat, Dr. Esteve Trias, adds that this initiative must allow generating "the critical mass necessary to increase the probability of bringing made in Barcelona medical technologies to the market."
Institutions such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the Barcelona ßeta Brain Research Center, the Barcelona Mobile World Capital (MWCapital), and IESE have shown their intention to contribute to this initiative. Companies such as Ais Channel, FC Barcelona, Canon, Carl Zeiss, Cellnex, Ficosa, Methinks AI, Seidor, Sener, Siemens, and Teladoc Health have also done so.
The CATI will occupy a new building of about 8,000 square meters, which, initially, will have eight floors and two basements. 21.7 million euros are expected to be allocated for the new headquarters and 32 million euros to equip and energize the center, which will be financed with European funds. To these figures must be added the annual fee that CATI will pay to the Archbishopric of Barcelona for the transfer of the surface right for 75 years, an amount that is still being determined.
As for the parish of Sant Isidor, its community will move to that of Sant Josep Oriol, on Villarroel street, and its social action will progressively move to other churches in the same district. To be able to build the new building, the current building must first be desacralized, and the parish received authorization from Rome last week.