Josep Torras i Bages (), born at

Les Cabanyes Les Cabanyes () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Penedès, Barcelona, Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Cat ...

Alt Penedès Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in the Penedès region, in Catalonia, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarif ...

, on 12 September 1846, died at

Vic Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...

Osona Osona () is a comarques of Catalonia, comarca situated in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Vic, Spain, Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan co ...

, on 7 February 1916, was a Catalan thinker, writer, and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. He was one of the main figures in the turn of the 20th century

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Catalan nationalism Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to Regionalism (politics), regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most pe ...

Biography

Torras and the Catalan traditions

Josep Torras strongly criticized the

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

displayed by the "militant nationalism" of

Enric Prat de la Riba Enric Prat de la Riba i Sarrà (; 29 November 1870 – 1 August 1917) was a Catalan politician, lawyer and writer. He was a member of the , where one of the earliest definitions of Catalan nationalism was formulated. He became the first Pr ...

(1870–1917). In 1892 he wrote ''La tradició catalana'', where he emphasized Conservative Nationalism and warned against the erosion of Christian values. Exalting rural life, the family, religion, and the love of

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

, the land and the language took an almost mystical dimension in his point of view. He was convinced that the Catalan nation had to be Christian in order to establish itself as something enduring and meaningful in the future. His words ''"Catalunya serà cristiana o no serà"'' (Catalonia will be Christian or will not be) are engraved at the gate of Santa Maria de Montserrat abbey. Torras was very interested in the study of the

seny (; from Proto-Germanic ) is a form of ancestral Catalan wisdom or sensibleness. It involves well-pondered perception of situations, level-headedness, awareness, integrity, and right action: "a kind of refined good sense and self-realisation." T ...

, a virtue often considered a Catalan cultural symbol, and encouraged others, like

Josep Abril i Virgili Josep Abril i Virgili (1869-1918) was a self-taught Catalan poet and playwright. He specialized in the production of works with easily understood and popular moral lessons, which were publicised through Roman Catholic organizations. Publications ...

and Jaume Raventós, to do so. Based on good sense and wisdom, ''seny'' was perceived by Torras to originate in the traditional Catalan rural farm (''casa pairal'' or ''masia''). The life in the traditional non-urban setting with its frugality, hard work, and religious piety was the right ground for the development of the values and social norms embodied in the Catalan ''seny''.

Ecclesiastical work

In 1882 Torras became counselor to bishop of Barcelona J. M. Urquinaona. Specializing in conflict-solving among Catholics, he also was the censor of some newspapers that were compromised in certain inner troubles (''procesos canónicos'') of the Spanish Church at the time. Years later, in 1888, Torras, after analyzing the growing secularization of Spanish society, wrote the book ''El clero en la vida social moderna'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In his work he wrote straightforwardly about the often integrist or reactionary position of the Catholic Church in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and sought to encourage the Spanish Catholic clergy to adapt to the spirit of the times and to focus on moderation and personal spiritual discipline, advice that went largely unheeded at the time. Torras was promoted to become

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

in 1906 and

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in 1913, but he declined because he did not want to put a distance between himself and the mission he was committed to in the heart of Catalonia.GER Torras i Bages - Biografia suelta

Death and beatification process

Torras i Bages died in Vic in 1916. His cause was formally opened on 21 April 1936, granting him the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. Due to political issues, it progressed slowly until 1992, when his heroic virtues where recognised by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

thus officially becoming a

venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

. As of now, only a

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

is needed to conclude the beatification process.

Works

Most of his works have been published in compilations under the title ''Obres completes'', his abundant correspondence, crucial for the understanding of certain issues surrounding Catalan nationalism, was finally published in 1998. As of 2020, the most recent edition of his works, that of Abadia de Montserrat, as well as his correspondence, are available online at

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

(see ).

References

External links

Josep Torras i Bages - Obres completes (Complete works)Josep Torras i Bages - Epistolari (Correspondence)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torras I Bages, Josep 1846 births 1916 deaths People from Alt Penedès Writers from Catalonia Bishops from Catalonia Catalan-language writers Bishops of Vic Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain