Come to Pallerols to relive stories that will thrill you

Friday, February 17th, at 6:00 p.m., we went by car and van to Pallerols, looking forward to seeing such special places for Saint Josemaría.

We arrived very late at night on a very dark, winding road. The van lost its way and it is in the middle of the forest. We imagine the fear they would have in 1937, without flashlights or cars to protect them.

Jordi waits for us. He has lit the chimney fire and gives us the keys to the house and the church.

We dine while we project the movie “There be Dragons”. What a thrill when Pallerols appears! We are here!! It helps us to know the atmosphere of fear and hate that was so prominent during the civil war, and how difficult it was for the fugitives to survive.

We slept thinking about how cold it was and how sorrowful St. Josemaria was because he did not know if he was doing what God wanted.

There is a radiant sun, a magnificent weather that will accompany us on this day. After breakfast, Jordi explains the story of those moments, and teaches us about the restored old rectory. There were many details that we did not know. What we liked the most was discovering where the rose was, how it illuminated that morning of 1937.

To finish, we go to Peramola. We see the haystack from the outside and read the fragment of “Entre la noche y la esperanza” (Between the night and the hope) that explains what happened there. We continue to the Casa del Corb (the Corb house). We have arrived! There we eat and play for a while.

Upon returning, the priest awaits us. It is the first time he is there and he is also very excited. After celebrating the Holy Mass and preaching meditation, we have a moment of reflection. We have prepared texts from the diary of Antoni Dalmases and other testimonies. Although it is cold, how good it is to pray here!

At dusk we told riddles, scary stories and funny stories around the fireplace. Mariona brought mashmallows to share.

We wake up early and go down to the church to see it lit up just as St. Josemaría found it the morning of November 22. It is impressive to see that the only light that enters through the single window – narrow and elongated – that there is in the hermitage, illuminates the area where the rose was probably found.

After some meditation and a mass, we study for a while, pick up and clean the house together and we go to the Saint Rafael’s cabin. The slope becomes steep, although we arrive in 30 minutes. There, we eat and tell stories about clubs. Lucia tells us things about Mexico. On the way to Pallerols, we meet a large flock of sheep and we talk to the shepherd, who is called Pere Sala and who turns out to be the grandson of Pere Sala, of the nearby house of Vilaró, the same one who protected and fed them during the eight days when the group of San Josemaría remained in the zone of Pallerols.

To close the tour we went to Andorra. We prayed at the church of Sant Julià de Lòria, where the sculpture of San Josemaría is, and we had lunch at a coffee shop in Andorra, like those of the expedition of 1937 did.

How lucky we were to meet some good friends and sleep in Pallerols!

Surely, St. Josemaría did not imagine that people from all over the world would visit and sleep in that house. It has been a very fun experience and an adventure that we would like to repeat. We will be back!