Santi Taboada
An agreement between Opus Dei and the Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón seems unlikely. Bishop Pueyo plans to resign if the Prelature doesn’t return the statue of Our Lady of Torreciudad.
Torreciudad is recognized as a medieval hermitage in the province of Huesca and a shrine commissioned by Opus Dei.
The hermitage houses the statue of Our Lady of the Angels, which has been an object of popular devotion among local residents since the 11th century. This includes the parents of the Opus Dei founder St. Josemaría Escrivá. They made a pilgrimage there to give thanks to Our Lady for Escrivá’s recovery from illness at two years old.
This is why Opus Dei built a large shrine next to the medieval chapel in 1975. Before that, it had reached an agreement with the Bishop of Barbastro for the permanent transfer of ownership of the hermitage and the statue.
In 2022, Opus Dei contacted Bishop Pueyo to update the shrine’s canonical status. Since then, there have been numerous unresolved issues that have prevented an agreement from being reached.
The agreement includes transferring the hermitage and the statue. The Diocese claims that the agreement is null and void, while the Prelature say it can prove its validity.
Opus Dei pays a nominal €20 a year for the transfer. This arrangement was established because Opus Dei covered all the costs of restoring the statue and the hermitage and made them accessible to local residents.
The shrine loses around €1 million a year. This deficit is covered through donations from both members of the Opus Dei and external donors.
The Diocese wanted to increase the annual payment to nearly half a million euros, which the Prelature considered excessive.
The final points of dispute concern the appointment of the rector, a right the Diocese claims, and ownership of the statue of the Virgin Mary, which is the latest disagreement.
At Bishop Pueyo's request, Pope Francis sent Archbishop Arellano as a papal commissioner to find a solution to these issues. Both Opus Dei and the bishop welcomed this appointment and said they would abide by whatever decision Archbishop Arellano made. Until a few days ago.
On Monday, August 31, Bishop Pueyo issued a statement delivering an ultimatum: if Opus Dei doesn’t return the statue, he will resign from office.
This commitment, in conscience, means that I can’t deprive the Diocese of its beloved Mother. You can be certain that your pastor would never sign off on such an unlikely dispossession of your dignity. In that case, I would place my office at the disposal of our people out of loyalty to them.
According to Bishop Pueyo, the matter of the statue doesn’t fall within Arellano’s jurisdiction. He also expressed his disappointment with Arellano’s work and claims to have had Pope Francis’ support on the matter:
In a handwritten note dated July 13, 2023, he wrote to me in his own hand: “Do not give in!” A few weeks later, in another handwritten note dated October 13, 2024, he explicitly warned me about “the mafia-style intrigues that are underway” surrounding this matter.
Opus Dei claims to have no knowledge of such support. Moreover, Pope Francis had the authority to hand Torreciudad over to the bishop, but instead appointed Archbishop Arellano as an arbitrator.
Faced with Bishop Pueyo’s ultimatum and the lack of a ruling from the archbishop, the controversy continues, just days before the Pilgrimage of the Virgins and the Marian Day for Families.
