Some visits in the month of August

Many people visit the places where St. Josemaría was in the Autumn of 1937

During the month of August, almost every day has visited Pallerols a group from different areas of Spain or other countries. We enclose graphic documents of 5 groups which are a sample of these visits.

One group writes:

On August 9, 2019, a group of friends who were spending a few days on vacation in Andorra, we said to go to Pallerols. With a guide book, the meal of the day and with the post; to know more about how the passage of St. Josemaría through the Pyrenees was. Upon arriving at Pallerols, we checked that everything was closed. Soon, some of us said aloud: “This would change a lot with a person who would explain to us and let us see the buildings inside.” Said and done. As if it were a wish to the genius of the “Wonderful Lamp” who had heard and granted it, Ramon Camats appeared. A guide from the Association of Friends of the Pallerols to Andorra, who came with a group of 4 people who had requested a guided tour through pallerols-andorra.org.

Ramón immediately took over the situation and formed a single group to make the guided tour. He taught us the church of St. Stephen, the restoration of the rectory house and explained how the arrival of St. Josemaría was, with the other expeditionaries, in November 1937. Then we entered the rectory house and among other things, what we most It was when Ramon told us how St. Josemaría suffered that night on Saturday, November 21, 1937 because he did not know if he was fulfilling God’s will continuing his way to Andorra. That night he slept nothing, with tremendous anguish that kept him awake and crying. The next morning when he got up, he went down to the church and asked for a sign to Heaven, and found a golden rose, which gave him back his usual peace. It was a comfort he had from the Virgin at this time of trial.

Then we could eat right there of what we brought. After the meal, we went up to the San Rafael cabin, which is half an hour walking and there we read the chapter of the San Rafael cabin.

Then we took the car and we could go to the church of Sant Julià de Lòria (Andorra), where San Josemaría was on December 2, 1937.

It was a magnificent visit!

Another group writes:

A few days later a group of pilgrims went to Pallerols from Rome, Madrid, Seville, San Sebastián, Valladolid, Zaragoza and Barcelona. Briefly tell us about their experience:

We all met at 11 with Ramón in the village of Ponts. From there we went to Peramola where Ramon showed us the straw barn in which St. Josemaría and his companions spent the night from November the 19th to November the 20th of the year 1937.

Then we went to Pallerols, where the three priests of the group concelebrated the Holly Mass of St. Josemaría, with the participation of all the rest of the pilgrims. In the homily Father Javier encouraged us to join ourselves spiritually to the Holly Mass celebrated there by St. Josemaría in 1937 and to pray for the trip that the Prelate of Opus Dei was doing to the United States and Canada.

After the Holly Mass we walked around the rectory and the Church, and we ended up watching a explanatory historical video in the room on the second floor of the rectory.

It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon when we ate some snacks in the shade of the trees, and then started our way towards the Cabin of San Rafael.

We finished the afternoon doing the prayer in the parishood of Sant Julià de Lòria, in Andorra, where San Josemaría arrived after the passage of the Pyrenees.

Thank you very much to all the people who make this wonder possible.

Another day of August, a group of teachers participating in summer courses in Andorra visited Peramola, Pallerols and the San Rafael cabin. They tell us below:

The visitors were residents of such distant points as: Vigo, Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Valencia … Ramón accompanied us, who gave us explanations that allowed us to recreate in detail the stay of St. Josemaría in these places.

We toured Peramola and we got to know the places related to the beginning of the expedition that San Josemaría and his companions made. From there we went to Pallerols where Ramon detailed the stay of this group on their way to freedom. We saw the rectory, and they screened us a documentary that collected the different stages of Peramola to Sant Julià de Lòria. We especially liked the model of the Pyrenean relief, which indicates the itinerary of that expedition. We access the church of Sant Esteve de Pallerols and then we approach the Cabaña de San Rafael.

We are looking forward to returning to tour some of the stages of the road and encourage our relatives and acquaintances to enjoy such beautiful landscapes full of history.

And several groups of women from different countries made different sections of the pass of the Pyrenees.