Expedition of Saint Josemaria Escrivà, in the autumn of 1937

Summary of Saint Josemaria’s expedition
Madrid – Barcelona – Oliana – Pallerols – Andorra
October – November – December 1937

Attached is a brief summary of the main events of the Saint Josemaria expedition from the time they left Madrid on October 8, 1937 until they reached the Hendaye border on December 11, 1937.

October 8th. Friday.- Sant Josemaria Escrivà leaves Madrid by car to Valencia, accompanied by José Mª Alvareda, Tomás Alvira and Manuel Sainz de los Terreros. They arrive in Valencia at 8 pm. He sleeps at the house of Professor Eugeni Sellés, on Carrer Eixarch. José Mª Albareda also sleeps there. Manuel and Tomás sleep in Pedro Casciaro’s pension; and Juan J. Vargas at Paco Botella’s house. Juan had left Madrid on the 6th, to prepare things.

October 9th. Saturday.- They all leave for Barcelona, ​​by train.

October 10th. Sunday.- They arrive in Barcelona at 11.30. José Mª Alvareda lives with his mother at c/ República Argentina, 60, in the house of Montagut’s widow. The others at the Cèntric hotel on the Rambla d’Estudis, 8.

The contact to go to Andorra is Mateo Molleví Roca, who has a bar at Ronda Sant Antoni, 84. He was called “Mateo el lechero” and is from Peramola.

October 14th. Thursday.- They change residence. They move to a boarding house (of Mrs. Rafaela Caballero Alcausa, vda. de Cornet) at Diagonal, 371.

One of the places where they ate was the “Bar Restaurant l’Aliga Roja” at Carrer Tallers, 64, and also in another slum nearby.

November 2nd. Tuesday.- Pedro Casciaro, Francisco Botella, Miguel Fisac ​​and Juan Jiménez Vargas arrive, at 8 in the morning, at the Pensión de la Sra. Rafaela, just when Saint Josemaria has finished saying Mass.

Day 19 November. Friday.- They leave at 1 in the afternoon on the bus that goes to La Seu d’Urgell. They go in two groups on the same bus. The 3 oldest together in the back of the bus (Josemaria Escrivà, José Mª Alvareda and Juan Jiménez Vargas), and the 3 youngest also together in the front rows (Pedro Casciaro, Francisco Botella and Miguel Fisac).

The 3 youngest go down to Sanahuja and will all meet at Peramola.

Josemaria Escrivà and the other two get off the bus beyond Oliana, at the height of the bridge that crosses the river. Around 8pm, already dark, they are picked up by “Tonillo”: Antoni Bach Pallarés, who leads them to Peramola to a hayloft owned by the Segon family, from whom they lease it.

November 20th. Saturday.- Around 5 in the morning, when it was still dark, they left the barn through the back window and accompanied by Paco, the son of “Tonillo” who was 17 at the time, they towards the Vilaró farmhouse, in the district of Pallerols, owned by Pere Sala. They arrived in Vilaró around 10 in the morning. Sant Josemaria celebrated mass in the house and then they had breakfast. They rested during the day in the hayloft, where they could be more hidden, and at night they had dinner and slept in the farmhouse.

November 21st. Sunday.- Sant Josemaria Escrivà celebrates Mass at the farmhouse of Pere Sala. The three who went down to Sanahuja, who had gotten lost, arrive two days late at this mass. After mass they all have a hearty breakfast. They also have lunch at Can Vilaró. Towards the end of the afternoon they leave Vilaró and arrive in Pallerols church in 15 minutes. Pere Sala accompanies them and shows them the place to sleep, the upper part of the old rectory, which is accessed through the church by an interior staircase that leaves the sacristy. They sleep in what they call “a kind of oven”.

November 22nd. Monday.- Finally he gets up in the morning and finds on the floor of the church a gilded wooden rose (stewed), which should be from the altarpiece of one of the side altars dedicated to the Mother of God of the Rose, or it could be the rose that the image itself was holding. The priest at the time, Mn. Joan Porta talks about an image of the Mother of God from the Roser from the s. XVII who had a rose in his right hand. He does not remember exactly what this image looked like but he says that it was very similar to that of Puig, another church in the Barony of Rialb. The image was of stewed wood. Everything was looted and burned in 1936. For him, this rose is proof that God wants him to continue the journey. After that celebrates the Sta. mass The two who were missing arrive, Tomás Alvira and Manuel Sainz de los Terreros, who had left Barcelona by bus the day before. After mass they all go down to breakfast at the Vilaró farmhouse and also have lunch there.

November 22 to 27.- On the 22nd, after lunch, Pere Sala accompanies them to a cabin half an hour’s drive from Pallerols, heading north and towards at the top of a mountain from where you can see the mountain of Aubenç. It is the so-called “cabaña de San Rafael”. They are all these days in this cabin, in the woods of Rialb, waiting for the order to leave. During these 5 days the work is organized and divided. They went to look for food at the Vilaró farmhouse or at another nearby farmhouse, at the Empordanès house. Other times they bring them there from these houses. Some also sometimes go to Cal Vilaró for lunch. They were going to get water from a nearby spring. They bathed in a natural pool halfway between the cabin and Pallerols. They also visited other people who were hidden in nearby caves and cabins: Mn. Joan Porta Perucho (rector of Pallerols) who lived in Cal Empordanès, Mn. Josep Lozano (rector of Peramola) and his brother Mn. Joaquim, the archpriest of Ponts who lived in Cal Vilaró, and many other people. They were also looking for mushrooms.

Every day he celebrated Mass on an altar made of tree trunks.

November 27th. Saturday.- At 6.15 in the afternoon they leave the “shack of S. Rafael”. “Tonillo” from Peramola was in front, followed by Mateo “the lechero”. It was a dark night. Antonio Dalmases says there was a moon, but also fog.

The itinerary was: Cabana de S. Rafael, plans of Montlleví, La Caseta de la Mora, where the owner of la Mora picked them up, they went down to Torrent and from there they went up to a cave cut in the rock, the Casa del Corb, where they arrived around 12 at night. Here they rested until 3 in the morning.

November 28. Sunday.- At 3 in the morning, they continue the march towards the Aubenç base. They bordered the Puigpinós forest and arrived with the first rays of the sun at the Espluga de les Vaques, in the Barranc de la Ribalera, between Juncàs and Santpou. Having just arrived, St. Josemaría celebrates Mass. It is in the open air, among some stones, in this very place that they have stopped. A boy who went with the expedition (Antoni Dalmases) says that he had never attended such an impressive Mass. Among the attendees is another 17-year-old boy called Josep Boix and he is a son of Juncàs, a nearby farmhouse. From this house they bring lunch, fried rabbit. Around 4 in the afternoon, the expedition guide, Josep Cirera, arrives, and they start the journey to Andorra with this new guide. In an hour they reach the base of the Jaça channel and then the climb to Aubenç begins. They reach the top at night, around 7.30 in the afternoon. They begin to descend with difficulty, cross the Isona road, pass the Valldarkes river and also cross the Sallent river with water up to their knees. They left the village of Montanisell on the left and around 6 in the morning, at dawn on November 29, they arrived at Fenollet’s house. Fenollet is currently a rural tourism house.

November 29. Monday.- They sleep during the day in one of the corrals in Fenollet and have a very good lunch here. Around 6.15 they set off again. Tonight they cross the Santa Fe mountain, go down to the Cabó river they cross, and then go up the Ares pass (1,500m). When they reach the town of Ares, before the pass, they rest for a few hours at a borda that is at the end of the town. At around 2 in the morning they continue and arrive at a bar in Baridà at 6.30. In total, they spent around 12 hours on this journey.

November 30th. Tuesday.- They sleep for a few hours on the 30th in this cattle corral of the Baridà properties (1,300 m). Baridà’s grandfather, Francesc Bentanachs, was killed by the retreating republicans towards the end of the war, on January 28, 1939. He was also dedicated to passing people to Andorra. In the “spoilt” bordeta, as the Bentanachs call it, they rest for a few hours and eat very little that day. Around 5 o’clock in the afternoon they leave the boat, towards the Baridà stream, passing by the Baridà house. Following the stream down, turn north along the Vell de Baridà path that goes to Noves de Segre skirting the Creueta mountain. Before reaching Noves turn right, cross the Guardia river and take the Carrerada road, pass in front of the current Cal Pallarès farmhouse (in 1937 there was nothing in this place, just a small hut for the utensils of the field). Further on they find another house, perhaps Borda del Poblador or Borda del Riu, where they rest for about three quarters of an hour. Here they are joined by 14 or 15 armed smugglers loaded with goods.

December 1st. Wednesday.- They rest among the stones and bushes halfway up the mountain. They eat very little. Around 5 in the afternoon they continue the march again passing through the Torre pass. The descent is very difficult due to the large amount of bushes and trees there. They go down to the Civís River which they cross and also cross the path that goes from Sant Joan Fumat to La Farga de Moles. They go up the pass of the Dead Goat (it was 3 in the morning), and cross the forest above Argolell. They pass by the side, leaving on the left, the borders of Lluçà, and following the old road they also leave on the left, passing by the same side, the hermitage of Santa Maria de Feners. They cross the rivulet of Argolell, and finally go up the steep climb (about 300 m difference in level) that takes them directly to Mas d’Alins, already on Andorran soil. It is the morning of December 2. Around 5 in the morning, the guides say they are already in the Principality of Andorra.

Andorra: 2 to 10 December 1937

December 2, 1937. Thursday.- They cross the border at night, around 4 in the morning. After walking for 1.5 hours through Andorran territory, the guides say that they are already outside of Spain and that there is no danger. They point the way and the guides leave.

They rested, prayed the rosary, prayed for a while, ate the provisions they had left, reasoned, some made a fire and stayed for a while with the whole expedition, until the sun came up. At this moment Saint Josemaria decides to walk again to Sant Julià. When they see St. Julian, they pray a Hail. They arrive in Sant Julià between 8 and 9 in the morning. They had “good bread and cheese” for breakfast, and a very hot latte. They asked for the key to the church and gave thanks before the Blessed Sacrament.

They continued on their way to Andorra la Vella and Escaldes where they stayed at the Palacín Hotel. This hotel also housed the French Gendarmerie who were the ones who kept internal order in Andorra during the years of the Spanish war. Most of the other expeditioners on the crossing from Peramola to Andorra stayed at the Hotel Muntanya, which was in front of the Palacín. Around one o’clock in the afternoon they had lunch and some of them felt sick after lunch after so many days of not eating.

In the afternoon they went down to Andorra la Vella to send a telegram to José Mª Alvareda’s brother whose name was Manuel and who was in S. Juan de Luz because he had moved to this other area a few months ago. In the telegram, they told him to pick them up by car at Pas de la Casa the next day. Saint Josemaria’s intention was to be in Andorra for a short time, because he was in a hurry to go with his children from Opus Dei who were in Spain.

They greeted the rector of the parish of Andorra la Vella Mn. Lluís Pujol Tubau and wrote a card to the consul of Honduras, Pedro de Matheu Salazar, notifying him that they had arrived in Andorra safe and sound. They were also vaccinated and filled out the papers to cross the border. They return to the Palacín hotel for dinner and sleep.

The Palacín Hotel was next to the Valira River, because according to Pedro Casciaro, Francisco Botella and Miguel Fisac, their rooms faced the river. The Hotel Muntanya is preserved practically as it was in 1937.

December 3, 1937. Friday.- Saint Josemaria celebrated Mass in the parish of Escaldes, very close to the Palacín hotel, after 1.5 years not to celebrate Mass with ornaments and in a Church. He sent some more telegrams: to Isidoro and to Mons. Javier Lauzurica bishop of Vitoria, who was his saint.

The passport photos necessary to pass to France were taken. It was a joint photo by photographer Claverol, which was then cut into 8 individual photos. In the afternoon it snowed heavily, which continued all night and the following days, so that it was even difficult to walk in the streets.

The car that came from S. Juan de Luz could not arrive as planned that afternoon, because the port of Envalira and the whole Pas de la Casa and further down in France, was impassable.

Saint Josemaria saw in this that God wanted them to stay in Andorra to rest for a few days.

Days 4 to 9 December

Day 4 of December. Saturday.- It continued to snow. They get up at 7 in the morning and go to Mass in Andorra la Vella. Mr. Lluís Pujol invites them to breakfast and then accompanies them to visit the Benedictine monks of Montserrat who are in Escaldes. In 1932, the monks of Montserrat built a large house in anticipation of refuge, because the atmosphere in Catalonia was bad. On the ground floor they had an oratory where he celebrated mass on the 5th and 6th. On the 7th he celebrated mass in the parish of Escaldes, and on the 8th of December, Saint Josemaria celebrated mass, at the request of the priest of Escaldes, in a convent of nuns in Escaldes, on the day of the renewal of vows. Other sources say that on December 8 he celebrated Mass in the church of Andorra la Vella. It could be that he celebrated in both places, since it was a holiday.

These days Saint Josemaria spoke with many boys from Andorra who were introduced to him by Mn. Louis He also spoke to the others who went through the Pyrenees with him and who were still in Andorra.

Many days in the afternoon they went down to Andorra to talk to Mn. Lluís, by the fire. Coffee and a cup of aniseed. He also invited them to lunch one day.

They also took advantage of these days to write cards to relatives, friends and acquaintances and review the Diary that was written by a different person every day.

Day 10 December 1937. Friday.- There was no more money left to pay for the hotel. They got up at 6 in the morning and Sant Josemaria celebrated Mass early in the morning in the Escaldes Church. Then they had breakfast and at 8 am they left Andorra with other people, about 25 in total, in a truck with chains on the wheels.

In Soldeu they could not continue. So they will continue on foot, with snow up to above their knees at many points of the crossing. In total they walked about 15 km on foot in the snow, wearing espadrilles because they had no money to buy shoes.

At 11 in the morning they arrived at a shelter that is before the Port of Envalira and rested there until 12. They continued to climb until they passed the Port of Envalira and shortly after, already descending, they immediately arrived at Pas de the house, where a 14-seater bus was waiting for them. More than 20 people were placed there. They arrived at l’Hospitalet before lunch. They did the customs and police procedures from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. They were given a one-day transit pass to the Spanish border.

The car that picked them up, sent by José Mª Alvareda’s brother, was a large taxi, an old Citroën. The 8 were placed in the car, dead from the cold and wet. Pedro Casciaro says that it was a very hard journey and that he does not understand how Saint Josemaria, who was older than them, was able to endure such a harsh situation of cold, freezing, wet, shivering the whole journey, without complaining at all.

They arrived at Saint Gaudens around 10 at night, and went to sleep in a run-down boarding house, the Hotel Central, with a linoleum floor and no pillowcases. Pedro Casciaro says that finally with many blankets and without the wet clothes on top he was able to sleep.

December 11, 1937. Saturday.- They got up at 6 in the morning and arrived in Lourdes around 9. They did not want to let Saint Josemaria celebrate Mass because he was going badly dressed They didn’t have any other clothes than the ones they had taken to cross the Pyrenees.

He finally celebrated Mass at the second side altar on the right of the nave, quite near the entrance to the crypt, assisted by Pedro Casciaro. It is the first time that Saint Josemaria celebrated Mass in Lourdes. It was difficult for him to leave the Grotto, where the image of the Virgin is.

Saint Josemaria was in Lourdes for a total of 2.5 hours.

They ate in Peyrehorade, and at 6 or 7 in the afternoon they arrived in Sant Juan de Luz.

They cross the Hendaya bridge on foot. While they were walking Saint Josemaria was praying the Salve and saying ejaculations.

On the night of December 11, they sleep in Fuenterrabía.

Later, on May 1, 1943, he returned to Andorra to be at the inauguration as co-prince of Andorra of his friend Bishop Iglesias Navarri.

Summary

a) From October 10, 1937 to November 19, 1937: 41 days in Barcelona.

b) From November 19 to December 2: 13 days, from Peramola to Andorra. In total they walked
about 100 km, overcoming a cumulative difference in altitude of about 9,000 meters.

c) From December 2 to 10: 9 days in Andorra blocked by snow.

d) December 11 Mass in Lourdes and crossing the Spanish border through Hendaye.