The new church of Torreciudad, which has celebrated its half-century in the past few weeks, is located in the center of the town of Torreciudad, from July 2023 in a complicated process due to the demand of the bishop of the diocese of Barbastrina, who asks for the return of the Virgin to the old hermitage, located a few meters from the new temple.
From that moment on, the Prelature and the bishopric have maintained discrepancies with respect to the validity of the contract that granted Opus Dei the cession (but not the ownership) in perpetuity of the image of Our Lady of the Angels. The Work defends the validity of this contract and, therefore, the public veneration of the image in the new church, as well as the management of the church and its dependencies and the right to present a list of three priests for the appointment of the rector.
A process with ups and downs
The process of negotiations between the Diocese of Barbastro Monzón and Opus Dei has had various stages.
In October 2024, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo, as Pontifical Commissioner Plenipotentiary for Torreciudad with the objective that this canonist would be the one who, once all the parties had been heard, would decide the future of Torreciudad. At that time, both the Prelature of Opus Dei and Bishop Pérez Pueyo were in favor of abiding by the resolution dictated by the person appointed by the Pope for this purpose.
Since then, the Commissioner has been able to meet with representatives of the diocese and the Prelature as well as with Pope Francis and, later, Pope Leo XIV without the tenor of any of these conversations being made public.
The last time the process had news was just over two months ago, by early July 2025The bishopric published a note in which it varied to a certain extent its initial demand, proposing that Torreciudad "be recognized and canonically erected as an International Shrine, under the direct dependence of the Holy See," and taking the image of our Lady to the wayside shrine. He also asked that the baptismal font in which St. Josemaría received this sacrament be returned to the cathedral. The font was replaced at the initiative of the Cathedral Chapter in the 1940s, due to its poor condition. The remains were left in the bed of the Vero River and in 1959, these few remains were offered to Opus Dei and transferred to Rome.
Pope Francis' performance
Now, the diocesan bishop of Barbastro Monzón has once again put the spotlight on this delicate issue, whose final decision is in the hands of the Holy See. According to the bishop of Barbastro, Pope Francis supported his demands -in writing and by word of mouth- on at least four occasions, although until now the bishop had not spoken about any of them publicly:
The first time during the visit ad Limina of the Spanish bishops in December 2021. Already then the Argentine Pontiff expressed his desire that the Virgin of Torreciudad should be in the hermitage and not in the central nave of the new temple.
He also mentioned a personal letter handwritten in 2023, in which Francis wrote to him: "Angel, don't give up", referring to the fact that he would not give up in his determination to take the carving back to its original hermitage.
Thirdly, Perez Pueyo assured that, during a brief protocol greeting on September 18, 2024, during an audience in St. Peter's Square, Francis asked him: "Angel, did they bring Our Lady down yet".
Finally, a month later, in a handwritten letter dated October 13, 2024,the prelate states that Francis wrote to him again warning him "to beware of the 'mafia intrigues that are ongoing' around this matter."
The letters have not been published, but Bishop Pérez Pueyo says he is willing to make them public, if necessary.
Willing to "give his life as Eleazar".
Taking as a reference the biblical figure of Eleazar, who gave his life for refusing to eat meat forbidden by the Jewish Law, the bishop of the Aragonese diocese has emphasized that "if I were forced, as a pastor I would repeat the same words of the old man Eleazar, in the face of the pressures to accept what I cannot accept: That I cannot do so 'without attracting stain and dishonor to my old age' that could serve as a bad example to my parishioners", referring to a possible decision of the Holy See that would not contemplate the main demands of the bishop.
The agreement regarding Torreciudad has not been made known at the time of going to press, while the Prelature of Opus Dei has always pointed to the need to await the decision of the Plenipotentiary Commissioner.
Key dates
July 17, 2023: The bishop of Barbastro-Monzón unilaterally appoints the parish priest of Bolturina-Ubiergo, José Mairal, as rector of the Torreciudad Sanctuary and maintains that the canonical situation of Torreciudad is irregular, so that the contract of cession of the Virgan and the hermitage are not valid.
March 1, 2024. Opus Dei publishes the documentation on the agreements and contracts between the bishopric of Barbastro-Monzon and the prelature, which explains in detail the agreement of cession of the image and the hermitage, the construction of the new temple.
October 9, 2024. Pope Francis appoints Bishop Alejandro Arellano as Pontifical Commissioner to resolve the issues in dispute over Torreciudad.
July 1, 2025. The diocese of Barbastro-Monzon asks for the return of the Virgin of Torreciudad to the hermitage and claims the baptismal font of the cathedral of Barbastro, which is located in the headquarters of the prelature. It also asks that Torreciudad be erected as an International Shrine and that Opus Dei designate the rector of the shrine.
Since there had been much speculation over the last two years as to whether the prelature should pay a heavy economic fee to the diocese for the use of the image, the diocese requests that Torreciudad be financially independent.
September 8, 2025. The bishop of Barbastro Monzón denounces in a homily the pressures and difficulties he is having for the image of Torreciudad to return to the original hermitage.
