Travelers from USA & Canada

September 14, 2011

Tags: Crossing the Pyrenees

The “Associació d’Amics del Camí de Pallerols de Rialb a Andorra” – association of friends of the Pallerols track from Rialp to Andorra – was created in 2002, centenary of the birth of St. Josemaria Escriva. Since then, they have worked to reconstruct the history and sites of the fugitives’ trail taken by the founder of Opus Dei with other people in November–December 1937.

Before and after the WYD in Madrid, young people from many countries arrived at this part of the Catalan Pyrenees. They wanted to walk along part of the fugitives’ path taken by St. Josemaria and his friends in 1937 to escape religious persecution. This route enabled the young pilgrims to reflect on what happened at that time.

An expedition from California
On August 12 and 13, 2011, a group of 42 young men from California visited Pallerols and its surroundings. They arrived at Organyà in the evening of August 12, spent the night there, and left the next day for Pallerols. After attending Mass celebrated by the priest who was travelling with them, they visited the site where St. Josemaria spent the night of November 21 to 22, 1937 and where he begged the Lord to let him see his will clearly, since he was torn in two directions and did not know if he should take this road to Andorra. The discovery of a gilded wooden rose on the ground in this church reassured him: he was to continue his journey.

The young men walked part of the road up to the “House of the Raven” and Ribalera, where St. Josemaria had celebrated Holy Mass. They retraced their steps at around 18:00 to get their bus back to Valldarques where they had a swim in the river, near Masies de Nargo. They arrived at Seu de Urgel to spend the night.

Wednesday August 17, after this very profitable preparation, they arrived in Madrid to wait for Pope Benedict XVI. This video. recalls what they experienced during those days.

From Toronto

On 11 August, at noon, a group of 54 Canadian girls arrived. They visited Peramola and Pallerols and saw the place where St. Josemaria spent the night of 21 to 22 November 1937, and the church where he found the “rose of Rialp”. They also visited “Saint Raphael’s Cabin”.

Portuguese students after the WYD

Wednesday, August 24, twelve students from Lisbon arrived at Pallerols accompanied by Fr Hugo dos Santos, Chaplain of the Catholic University of Lisbon.

They were on their way home from the WYD and went to Lourdes and Torreciudad to give thanks for the days spent in Madrid. They made a detour to visit Pallerols which made a deep impression on them: they realized that our Blessed Lady helps us through the hardest moments of our life, shows us what God’s will is, and enables us to do it.

In this regard, it is worth recalling what the prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarria said to someone who asked him what to ask Our Lady of the Rosary at Pallerols. Bishop Echevarria replied unhesitatingly, and with great conviction: “Ask her to show us our personal path.”