The group at the Saint Raphael Cabin

This account was sent to us by Constantino Ánchel.

“For the past decade, a few school friends and I would meet in Pallerols for the Rose Gathering Festival. We would come from Pamplona and Valencia, accompanied by other friends. The pandemic interrupted the gathering, a pause that lasted a few more years due to work schedule conflicts and, last year, due to the problems caused by the DANA storm in Valencia. This year, we resolved to overcome the obstacles, and finally, seven of us showed up in Pallerols: four from Valencia and three from Pamplona. We remember Paco Ramos, who recently passed away, and who was one of the first to come with us to Pallerols.

The organizers were Javier, a businessman from Valencia, and Father Constantino, a priest in Pamplona. This explains why most of the expedition, with the exception of Javier and Pedro, were priests. Four members of the expedition were returning visitors: Javier, Fr. Javier, Fr. Constantino, and Fr. Gabriel, a professor at the University of Navarra and a native of El Salvador. To these were added Pedro, a biochemist in Valencia, and the priests Fr. Arturo, from Castellón, and Fr. Arthur, from Brazil.

That evening, the veterans recounted their previous experiences in Pallerols, emphasizing its special magnetism, as one can feel the presence of Saint Josemaría’s stay in 1937 and the experience of the discovery of the rose.

The plan was to repeat what they had experienced on previous visits: to meet on Friday night in Peramola, go to Pallerols the following morning to explore the site, attend the video presentation about crossing the Pyrenees, take part in the procession of Our Lady of the Rosary, and then participate in Holy Mass.

Arriving at Pallerols

This year, because there was a greater number of priests present, as the new Bishop of Urgell presided over the celebration, and the sanctuary couldn’t accommodate so many priests, those of us on the expedition celebrated Holy Mass in the Rectory, in the same place where Saint Josemaría celebrated it on November 22, 1937.

Preparing to celebrate the Eucharist

After Mass, and after exchanging greetings with other participants, we set off for Cal Fenollet, where Rosa Coll had prepared lunch for us. Afterward, she shared her memories of Saint Josemaría’s stay in this place, just as she had heard them from her father, who had carried the food from the house to the farmyard where they were hiding that day.

On Sunday, the Solemnity of Christ the King, we went to the Saint Raphael Cabin. There we celebrated Holy Mass, on the anniversary of the first Mass that Saint Josemaría celebrated in that place. The weather was conducive to reflection, as the lack of wind made the temperature bearable.

The climb to the Saint Raphael Cabin

Celebrating the Eucharist at the Saint Raphael Cabin

Resting at the Saint Raphael Cabin

After Mass, Ramón Camats, who accompanied us, explained the history and significance of that place for the life of Saint Josemaría and Opus Dei. Then we went down to Pallerols and Peramola where we had lunch with Jordi Piferrer and Ramón Camats.

A few days lived intensely under the protection of Our Lady of Pallerols”.

The rose of Pallerols in the hand of the image of Our Lady of the Rosary