Torreciudad: happy end in sight?

On July 7th, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad, located in the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón, province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Indeed, it was inaugurated on July 7, 1975, with a Mass for the soul of Monsignor Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei, who had died in Rome, where he resided, just a few days earlier, on June 26th of that year.

This Marian devotion already existed in 1084, but it was in 1904 that it emerged in the life of the founder of Opus Dei. When Josemaria was two years old and had been diagnosed with death in less than 12 hours, his parents turned to Our Lady of Torreciudad. The next day, their son not only had not died, but was cured and jumping in his crib! Shortly thereafter, perhaps in 1905, his parents fulfilled their promise to take him to the Torreciudad hermitage to give thanks for his inexplicable and sudden healing. It's likely that the journey was made from Fonz, the town of origin of his father's family and where they usually spent their summer vacations, although they lived in Barbastro, where José Escrivá ran a small business. Of the couple's six children, only half survived, because three daughters, aged 1, 5, and 8, died in 1910, 1912, and 1913, respectively.

In 1956, the founder of Opus Dei expressed his intention to restore the old hermitage and build a Marian shrine nearby. Always acting in harmony with the diocesan authorities, in November of that year, he requested the necessary permission from the then Bishop of Barbastro, Bishop Jaime Flores, which was granted. Under the agreement signed by the diocese and Opus Dei on September 24, 1962, the diocese made available the hermitage, which was in a state of disrepair, but retained its ownership, as well as the image of Our Lady of Torreciudad, which was ceded in perpetuity to the new shrine. Opus Dei, in turn, undertook the restoration of the hermitage and the image, as well as the construction of the shrine and its adjacent facilities.

In 1963, architect Heliodoro Dols began work on the project, and on November 29, 1964, the Torreciudad Patronage was established and tasked with raising the necessary funds. Construction of the sanctuary, in a bold modern style of great sobriety and beauty, took five years, and the costs were borne by thousands of faithful who, with their small but sometimes heroic alms, made it possible for another sanctuary to Our Lady to be built in Alto Aragón.

Saint Josemaria never saw the Torreciudad Sanctuary completed, but he visited it a month before his death, dedicating the main altar and inaugurating the crypt of confessionals with his confession. In this regard, on June 17, 1967, he wrote: "I hope the Lord will grant an abundant shower of spiritual graces to those who come there to pray to his blessed Mother before this small image, so venerated for centuries. Therefore, I am interested in having many confessionals, so that people may purify themselves in the holy sacrament of penance and, with renewed souls, confirm or renew their Christian life, learn to sanctify and love their work, sowing the peace and joy of Jesus Christ in their homes."

He also gave some instructions: he prohibited commercial or other activities in the vicinity of the temple and, to prevent miraculous superstitions, he wanted the fountains in the area to be marked with the words 'natural drinking water'.

Since the Torreciudad Shrine opened, an estimated 12 million pilgrims from around the world have visited, making it a truly international shrine, free of charge for the diocese, as all expenses are covered by a foundation created for this purpose. The diocesan clergy were also spared the burden of this apostolic undertaking, as the shrine's rector and chaplains belong to the presbytery of the Opus Dei prelature, which also manages the complex.

Despite more than half a century of harmonious organic collaboration between the prelature of Opus Dei and the diocese of Barbastro, the current Bishop, in July 2023, as mentioned here at the time ( An ecclesiastical 'thriller': 'assault' on Torreciudad, 17-8-2023), dismissed the rector in office and appointed, as his replacement, Fr. José Mairal, 86-year-old parish priest of Bolturina, to assert what he understood to be his rights as diocesan bishop. Since it was not possible to reach an agreement between the diocese and the prelature, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Alejandro Arellano, on 9-10-2024, as Pontifical Plenipotentiary Commissioner ad hoc , who, in this capacity, visited Torreciudad, heard the Bishop of Barbastro-Monzón, as well as the local representatives of Opus Dei.

According to news published on the 2nd by Religión en Libertad, the Bishop of Barbastro-Monzón requested the Holy See, on the first day of this month, that “Torreciudad […] be recognized and canonically erected as an international shrine, under the direct dependence of the Holy See, […] and that Opus Dei be able to freely appoint the rector of the new shrine. The diocese also includes among its proposals that, if recognized as such, the new international shrine enjoy financial independence from the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón and, as an entity dependent on the Holy See, the latter be responsible for auditing and approving its accounts […]. In this sense, the diocese assures that it renounces any benefits or remuneration […]. Regarding the shrine’s assets, the diocese requests that both the original image of Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad and the baptismal font originally from the cathedral of the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón – transferred to the prelature’s central headquarters in Rome – be returned to their places of origin. In the case of the Virgin [image], it demands that it be returned to its shrine-hermitage, where it has been venerated for over a thousand years by the diocesan faithful who, throughout history, have protected it, even in times of persecution and war, at the cost of their own lives.

It would be very appropriate if Torreciudad were established as an international shrine, as it is, and placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy See. Furthermore, considering that its maintenance and activities are exclusively the responsibility of the prelature of Opus Dei, it is reasonable that the appointment of its rector be made by its prelate, as has always been the case since its founding. It is also fair that the diocese waive its claim to an annual pension, since it has no, and never has had, any financial burden on the shrine, which, on the contrary, honors and benefits, above all spiritually, the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón.

Regarding the petition for the original image of Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad, now venerated in the Sanctuary, to return to the original hermitage, it should be remembered that it was the diocese itself that ceded it in perpetuity, so that it could be venerated in the new Sanctuary, having been, for this purpose, restored and greatly improved.

The ancient baptismal font of the Barbastro Cathedral was destroyed and thrown into the river during the Spanish Civil War. Its remains were rescued and offered by the diocese to Saint Josemaria, who had been baptized there and who restored it and returned it to liturgical use in the prelatic church in Rome, where it is located. Since it was offered, it makes no sense to propose its return, especially since this baptismal font has no connection to Torreciudad, and because it is made of solid stone and of a reasonable size, its dismantling and transfer would be very difficult and costly.

It is likely that this statement from the diocese, already anticipating the obvious denial of their claims, is, through the suggestion of possible compensation, a last-ditch attempt at a less humiliating solution. It is hoped, however, that the Holy See, through the Pontifical Commissioner, will do justice to the Sanctuary of Torreciudad on its 50th anniversary.

May Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad bless the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón, in the person of its Bishop, priests and faithful, grant her blessings to the prelate, presbyterate and laity of Opus Dei, and may she continue to pour out her graces upon her children who, like the parents of Saint Josemaría, have recourse to her maternal intercession.