After sharing a glorious, unforgettable week and a half in Barcelona with “mis tres hijas” exploring and savoring this alluring city’s sights, sounds, streets and, of course, for Patricia, Pia and Anne, giving in to the endless temptations of its shops. And after savoring the eats and exchanging “kamustas” with our ever smiling kababayan, which surely brought a touch of home to Roel, Fely and Lucy as they served hordes of hungry tourists waiting patiently in line to partake of Iberian fare, it was finally time for me to shelve momentarily trying to hopelessly satisfy the endless, temporal needs that constantly batter the human soul. And to pause, reflect and introspect on what indeed this fragile life is all about and what awaits, eventually and inevitably, our souls when finally, all these frivolities fade into, hopefully, not just an eternity of nothingness but the brightness and joy of an eternal life with our Maker.

Torreciudad beckons! Where is it and what exactly is the allure of Torreciudad? Torreciudad is a 940-year-old sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Torreciudad about three hours west of Barcelona near the town of Barbastro in Huesca province belonging to Aragonese Ribagorza county which is about 1 1/2 hours from the Pyrenees Mountains that border France.

In the original shrine situated at the edge of a cliff hundreds of meters from the new sanctuary is a Romanesque-style elm-wood carving of a dark colored Blessed Virgin and Child which exudes an aura of primitive authority rather than beauty, typical of images of the Blessed Virgin during the 900-1000 AD period.

The Founder of Opus Dei, Saint Josemaria Escriva, during his childhood, was said to have been cured of a serious illness after his mother made a pilgrimage to the shrine and sought its intercession. In thanksgiving for his cure and to honor the Blessed Virgin of Torreciudad, St. Josemaria, with the help of friends, initiated the construction of a modern sanctuary in 1970 that was completed in five years, one month after his death.

Today, Torreciudad attracts thousands of pilgrims yearly who flock to the shrine to celebrate weddings and special events and to soak in the revered spirituality of this majestic shrine and the stunning glory of an awe inspiring bell tower, church, spartan but interactive facilities for visiting pilgrims and a vast plaza made of traditional Aragonese eleme nts such as stone, alabaster and brick perched high up on a hill overlooking the sky blue waters of the El Grado dam that snakes around the mountain ranges of the adjoining provinces bordering the Pyrenees Mountains.

The fellowship at the seminar was an unexpected, joyful surprise for me. Our band of merry pilgrims dominated by boisterous Cebuanos was led in our spiritual journey by an intrepid cycling-enthusiast Spaniard, a proud native of Valencia but now a full-fledged Cebuano, complete with Visayan accent, with emphasis on the word “gid!”

After a three-hour bus ride from Barcelona, our disparate group of about 30 pilgrims from Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Pampanga, Manila and Vancouver consisting of several doctors (a jolly St. Nick surgeon who just loves removing gallbladders; an ENT specialist who decided to drop the other “E” for reasons unknown; a radiologist; a cardiologist, and even an orthopedic surgeon from Singapore particularly adept at drone videos providing spectacular views of the scenery — although a Pinoy pilgrim we later discovered was not to be outdone with his own “human drone” version; a know-it-all, walking, talking encyclopedia, physicist turned furniture exporter businessman; a soft-spoken baker and possibly a future priest; a low-key hacendero; a big-time real estate magnate; several management professionals; a hard-hitting but a softie on the inside journalist; some corporate executives and retirees; a full-time spiritual director philosopher cum avid DLSU loyalist who keeps all his mentees wide awake and thinking with his slam-bang, mini on-the-go dissertations on subjective-objective philosophies (what again?); and of course the most important member of the delegation, a young priest whom I knew way back when he was not even ordained). All of us, intent on revitalizing our spirituality by breathing in the essence of a week spent in meditation, reflection and prayers on the hallowed grounds of Torreciudad.

As we entered the imposing compound of Torreciudad, our jaws collectively dropped in amazement at the splendor before us. We quickly converged on the sanctuary and found our respective spartan-bare rooms that were to be our home for the next week. As we settled in for the various activities lined up for us, to my great surprise, our schedule was interspersed with interesting excursions so unlike the seminars in Manila.

Until next week… OBF! (To be continued)

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