Uncertainty reigns at Opus Dei shrine in Spain
Report from just prior to Holy Week
Torreciudad prepares for Holy Week amid uncertainty about its future
While waiting for the Papal commissioner to resolve the dispute between Opus Dei and the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón, the shrine offers various activities for these days.
The Huesca shrine of Torreciudad will experience Holy Week with an added element: uncertainty about its near future. As you may recall, the diocese of Barbastro-Monzón is engaged in a dispute with Opus Dei, which built the complex in the 1970s and 1980s and has managed it ever since. However, the diocese deems it necessary to tie up certain loose ends regarding the matter, as it is located within its jurisdiction. The Bishop of Barbastro-Monzón, Monsignor Ángel Pérez Pueyo, stated in February that "Torreciudad must be regularized. It was an oratory, but it appears to everyone as a sanctuary," and warned, referring to Opus Dei, that "no institution, no matter how numerous, relevant, or significant, can usurp the popular devotion of a people."
To try to reconcile the two visions—that of the bishop and that of the Work—Pope Francis appointed Spanish Archbishop Alejandro Arellano as Papal Commissioner on October 9. Pending his final pronouncement, the sanctuary—or "complex," as the bishopric calls it—continues with its Holy Week celebrations. According to a statement, a video mapping of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, projected onto the monumental altarpiece, and the special Holy Saturday concert, along with the Easter Triduum and the "Experience Faith" program, are the main attractions offered during this Holy Week, a period in which numerous groups of pilgrims and visitors have already confirmed their attendance.
Video mapping dramatizes a dialogue between the Virgin Mary and Longinus, the soldier who pierced Jesus's side with his lance. To the young soldier's memories and questions, the Mother of God responds with a supernatural vision of her pain and that of her Son. Longinus's faith is finally awakened after hearing this confidence of love, forgiveness, and hope.
In three dimensions
The projection lasts seven minutes and, through three-dimensional effects and visual animations, provides the viewer with a vivid, immersive experience, to the rhythm of percussion rooted in Aragonese traditions. Admission is free, and times can be found on the Torreciudad website (www.torreciudad.org). The visit can be complemented by the other museum spaces, especially the immersive experience offered by the "Experience Faith" space
On Saturday, April 19, at 4:30 p.m., the Pamplona Chamber Choir, conducted by David Gálvez Pintado and with Xabier Urtasun at the organ, will perform a little-known composition: the "Requiem" by the San Sebastian musician José Antonio "Padre Donostia." Considered his masterpiece, it is a great monument to traditional liturgical chant, alternating polyphony, plainchant, and sophisticated yet profound organ writing. "This performance, already a tradition in Torreciudad on the eve of Easter Sunday, is intended to help the faithful experience the great Christian mysteries of these days," explain the promoters
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