On September 5, the 47th Pilgrimage of the Virgins of Ribagorza and Sobrarbe will take place at the Torreciudad Shrine. The original statue of Our Lady of the Angels will participate in this pilgrimage following authorization from the commissioner pontiff, Bishop Alejandro Arellano.
In this context, the Bishop of Barbastro, Monsignor Ángel Pérez Pueyo, has issued a statement in which he once again calls for the return of the statue to its original chapel, even though the matter is currently in the hands of the Holy See, specifically, the plenipotentiary commissioner appointed for this purpose by Pope Francis in 2024, Bishop Alejandro Arellano who will also visit the complex the following week to preside over the Marian Family Day, one of the most beloved and well-attended celebrations held in Torreciudad.
The statement by Bishop Perez Pueyo is the latest installment in a series which has held its main events every summer since, in July 2023, this would lead to a disagreement between the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón and the Prelature of Opus Dei that has not yet been resolved.
The Image of Torreciudad and the New Shrine
In a statement very similar to the homily delivered a year ago, Bishop Perez Pueyo has once again called for the image’s permanent return to its original chapel: “We ask that the Mother remain in her longtime home, where she had always been for more than a thousand years until she was taken away fifty years ago.” It should be recalled that the transfer of the image of Our Lady of the Angels of Torreciudad to the new church, the work of Heliodoro Dols, was authorized by the bishop of the diocese, Monsignor Jaime Flores, in 1966; a copy of which is preserved notarized document.
Four years earlier, in 1962, it had been agreed to restore the statue of the Virgin and the chapel and maintain them in perfect condition, “to promote worship and ensure access for pilgrims, and, initially, not to remove the statue of the Virgin from the chapel,” this was the only point that changed. During this time, the Torreciudad Board of Trustees, in its various forms, has been responsible for restoring the chapel, renovating it, paving the access road, and ensuring its safety.
The statement also asserts that “the Diocese has renounced everything else. We have renounced any financial compensation. We do not claim control of the new church, nor its assets, nor its accounts, nor the entities or companies involved in its management”—something that, on the other hand, is complicated given that the new church belongs to the canonical foundation Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Torreciudad, while the Asociación Patronato de Torreciudad—which is responsible for securing funding for the new church’s maintenance—is an entity with civil legal personality.
Once again, the prelate points out that it was the diocese that asked the Holy See for Torreciudad to be “recognized as an international shrine directly under the Holy See, and for the Holy See itself to oversee its financial and pastoral affairs.”.
The procession of the original statue
Regarding the temporary transfer of the statue, the bishop had published a statement last July in which he unequivocally affirmed that this statue would participate in the liturgical celebration and the procession of this pilgrimage. However, officials in Torreciudad maintained that “they presented this proposal to the papal commissioner, Monsignor Alejandro Arellano, who has authorized the original statue to be taken to the chapel and remain there during the celebration” They also clarified that “the pilgrim copy of the Virgin of Torreciudad will be used for the subsequent procession,” which “is equipped with the necessary fastenings and other elements to be transported safely and is specifically designed to participate in pilgrimages.”.
The Work of the Plenipotentiary Commissioner
Perez Pueyo, however, argues in this statement that it is Torreciudad that is under “special supervision” and not the diocese; therefore, in his view, consulting Arellano was unnecessary.
Although the text of the potential agreement regarding Torreciudad is unknown, the Bishop of Barbastro states in this press release that he “cannot sign, approve, or consent to a solution that would deprive the people of Barbastro-Monzón of their own Mother, or that would turn her into a stranger who pays occasional visits to her children from someone else’s home.” The Virgin’s residence in the new church, which is otherwise open and visited as usual by devotees of the Virgin of Torreciudad—both locals and visitors—is unacceptable to the bishop, who goes so far as to emphasize that “the peace of the Church cannot be built upon the silence of a people who are asked to renounce their own memory.”.
In this regard, Perez Pueyo has hinted at some dissatisfaction with the plenipotentiary commissioner’s handling of the matter, noting that it has become “a sort of mediation between them [the Opus Dei prelature] and the diocese, as if this community, which was hoping for justice, were forced to accept concessions instead of defending its rights—which is precisely what led to the creation of the Torreciudad commission.” A statement that appears to contradict several previous remarks made by the prelate to various media outlets, in which he expressed satisfaction with the statement by the Holy See and willing to comply with whatever the Vatican might decide regarding Torreciudad.
Condition for the Continuity of the Episcopate
Before issuing the call for participation in this pilgrimage—which is not the first time it has been held in Torreciudad, as the town already hosted it in 2011— the bishop wished to emphasize that he hopes “Torreciudad will be a major universal center for Marian evangelization,” as it has been in a special way over the past fifty years.
As the last year, echoing the stance of the elderly Eleazar, the bishop has once again put his position on the line if the resolution regarding Torreciudad does not result in the return of the «private» Virgin—in the bishop’s words—to his diocese. A resolution that, for the time being, does not seem likely.
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