An old shrine

Burials are believed to have been held around the Sant Genís dels Agudells church since ancient times, as was the custom at old shrines. But the first written evidence of the existence of the cemetery appears in a document from 1060. A licence from the Vicar General of the Diocese granted in the 14th century to the friar-hermit Ponç Astars gave permission for the moveable altar to be put in the oratorio, which he himself had built, to celebrate Mass in and for building a cemetery.

The last parish cemetery

Parish cemeteries were banned in 1775 for health reasons.  Isolated or rural graveyards, such as that of Sant Genís, were spared the ban. The church of Sant Genís dels Agudells is of Romanesque origin with vestiges of earlier times, which include a fish, the symbol of the early Christians, engraved into the right-hand-side of the main door. It was extensively renovated in the 17th century. Following its consecration in 932, the parish had a sanctuary formed by the church, the cemetery and an area of thirty square feet granted by the bishop which enjoys ecclesiastic protection and immunity.