There were about 120 people from many places in Andorra, Catalonia, Spain and Ireland
On Saturday, June 29th, we celebrated the 8th Anniversary of St. Josemaría in Sant Julià de Lòria (Andorra) to commemorate the feast of the saint, which was held on June 26th.
This year we do not celebrate it in Prats del Gastó, between Fontaneda and Mas d’Alins, where St. Josemaría Escrivà arrived in Andorra on the morning of December 2, 1937, but the celebration of the Aplec was in the same town as Sant Julia de Loria. Start with the celebration of the Eucharist, followed by a good meal and finally a video about St. Josemaría.
The Holy Mass
It was at 13:15 in the parish church of Sant Julià, on the occasion of the recent inauguration of the new altarpiece of the church, the work of the Slovenian artist Marko Ivan Rupnik.
Mass concelebrated by five priests, Mn. Pepe Chisvert, rector of the parish of Sant Julià and four priests of the prelature of Opus Dei: Mn. Joaquim Gonzàlez Llanos, who presided over the Eucharist, Mn. Pere Pascual, from Barcelona, Mn. Josemaría Sanchís, who went with a group of 28 young boys from Valencia, Lleida and Malaga, and who made the walk Pallerols-Sant Julià de Lòria on foot in 5 days, and also concelebrated Fr. Donchan was going with a group of 12 boys from Ireland who also arrived on foot in Sant Julià to join the Aplec.
To the homily, Mn. Joaquim emphasized the love of St. Josemaría in the Church and the Pope, the successor of Peter, since the mass corresponded to the solemnity of the apostles Peter and Paul, columns of the primitive Church.
At the end of the Eucharist, we venerated relics of St. Josemaría while singing the joy of the Virgin of Canòlich, Patroness of Sant Julià de Lòria.
The entire Eucharistic celebration was magnificently accompanied by the organ and songs directed by Jerrick, organist of the church of Sant Julià.
The lunch
At 14:30 we did lunch, at the headquarters of the Department of Social Services of the Comú of Sant Julià de Lòria, located in Pça. Major, no 9, very close to the church.
Since there were only 70 people in this place, the 28 guys who had walked from Pallerols went to lunch at the Pizzeria Venezia, very close to the church too.
Both in one place and the other, the lunch was served by the Venezia pizzeria. An abundant and quality meal.
Towards the end of the meal, the Irish boys sang a song typical of that country, which we reproduce here.
The video of St. Josemaría
At 5:00 a.m., a video of Saint Josemaría was performed at the Rocafort Auditorium, at the Center for Culture and Congresses, located in Pça. de la Germandat, very close to the church too.
It was a filming of a gathering at the Coliseo Theater in Buenos Aires (Argentina), which dates back to June 26, 1974, just one year before the death of St. Josemaría, which was on June 26, 1975.
With this video, the celebration of St. Josemaría’s Aplec ended, which this year brought together a total of 120 people, from the Principality of Andorra, Seu d’Urgell, Lleida, Barcelona, Girona, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Valencia, Malaga, … and Ireland.
El paso de los pirineos, pienso en ello, y me entran ganas de volver, ya lo he hecho 3 veces seguidas, y espero ansiosamente la 4°, una maravilla de travesía, con paisajes maravillosos, gente espectacular y sobre todo, un profundo significado, desde mi experiencia, invito a todas las personas que se sientan capaces de realizarlo, no perderán nada, lo único, ganarán valores y experiencias que contar
En hora buena!
Feliç de viure i participar en un esdeveniment que va deixant les seves petjades en tants cors de gent de tot el món
Una jornada de descans en família!