A child will sing the Sibyl in the Cathedral for the first time in recent history

PalmThe Mallorca Headquarters This Christmas, the town will experience an unprecedented event in its recent history: for the first time, the singing of the Sibyl At Matines, it will be performed by a child. Next December 24th, starting at 11 pm, 12-year-old Toni López Dezcallar will lend his voice to one of the oldest and most unique Christmas traditions on the island, declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

After it was announced that López would be singing the Sibyl, the boy said he was very "happy and excited" and that he had been practicing with his singing teacher since the summer for this "special" occasion. He admitted to being "a little nervous" about being the first boy to sing the Sibyl.

The Christmas Matines celebration will be presided over by the Bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Taltavull, and will also include the Calenda sermon, which this year will be delivered by Lluís Turell Amer, also 12 years old. Both are members of the Escolanía de los Rojos de la Seu (Choir of the Reds of the Cathedral).

The choice of López marks a symbolic milestone. Historically, the Sibyl's song had been performed by a boy, a priest, or a canon, but the changes introduced following the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) opened the door to greater female participation in religious celebrations. From the late 1960s onward, dolls and women began to assume the role of the Sibyl in the churches of Mallorca, including the Cathedral, eventually becoming the predominant voice in recent decades. Now, the Cathedral Chapter has opted to revive the male child's interpretation, choosing a member of the children's choir. Toni López was selected after a process carried out over the past few months, in which several boys and girls participated.

For years, in the Cathedral of Mallorca, the person responsible for portraying the Sibyl has been either a child or a doll, although in practice the tradition had become mostly associated with female voices. In other parishes of Mallorca, the interpretation has also varied.

The Song of the Sibyl It stages the Last Judgment through a prophetess who, sword in hand, intones verses of medieval origin based on the prophecies attributed to the Erythraean Sibyl of ancient Greece. She is the only figure from pagan antiquity to be incorporated into Christian liturgy, as the closing of Christmas Matins.

With this choice, the Cathedral combines tradition and renewal, and once again highlights the role of the Escolanía de los Rojos, a choir with origins in the 16th century that remains key in the transmission of Mallorca's musical and liturgical heritage.

The Sibyl is the only figure from pagan antiquity to survive the advent of Christianity. The Catholic Church incorporated her as the final lesson of Christmas Eve Matins. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) abolished this and other liturgical practices. However, popular support ensured the tradition's continuation, both in Majorca and Alghero. A three-year interruption of the chanting, from 1572 to 1574, is documented in Majorca Cathedral.