Montserrat's Virgin Statue Hidden in Andorra for Four Months During 1931 Anticlerical Violence

Father Bernat Juliol, subprior and administrator of Montserrat Abbey, has confirmed through archival records that the Virgin of Montserrat—known as La Moreneta—was hidden in Andorra for nearly four months in 1931 amid anticlerical violence in Barcelona after the Second Spanish Republic's proclamation.

The statue's transfer occurred on 13 May 1931, as convent burnings raged from 10-13 May. That day, Montserrat's council of deans directed a group of monks to take the revered wooden figure from the sanctuary to Andorra for safety. It stayed until 8 August, when the council judged the threat subsided and authorized its return. The precise location in Andorra remains undocumented, though Juliol points to the monks' house on what was then Carrer Estret—now mossèn Guillem Adellach—in Escaldes. "They chose Andorra not merely as a foreign country, but because they trusted Andorrans to welcome and protect her," he explained.

This refuge built on connections established in 1929, during Spain's instability under Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. Anticipating risks like disamortization or worse, Abbot Antoni Maria Marcet sought secure footholds abroad, including Andorra—possibly influenced by Andorran monk Father Eladi Pantebre in the community. Monks first acquired a property beside Sant Pere Màrtir parish in Escaldes but never occupied it. At the Comú's urging, they launched Col·legi Nostra Senyora de Meritxell in the building now housing the CAEE, with Fathers Isidor Maria Fonoll, Manel Maria Rosés, and Brother Eladi Maria Martí as initial teachers. The ground floor rented as a garage, while upper levels served the school and monks' quarters.

Amid rising tensions, investments accelerated. On 26 April 1931, the community designated Andorra as a potential escape hub and coordination point for any diaspora. They formed Cultural Andorrana SA that year to manage Andorran properties, mirroring Catalonia's ARSA. The 1933 opening of Hotel Valira—designed by monk Father Celestí Gusi, a Puig i Cadafalch disciple—served first as income and second as shelter. Plans peaked with unsigned 30 May 1933 blueprints for a vast monastery and boarding school near the current Nostra Senyora de Meritxell Hospital, accommodating 56 monks and 80 boarders, plus 40 day students on adjacent land from "l’hort del benefici de Sant Pere Màrtir" to near the Escalls bridge.

The Spanish Civil War derailed all. Franco's coup and anarchist violence caught the monks unprepared; evacuation to Andorra failed despite protocols, with 23 of roughly 100 community members killed. Monastic life restarted in 1939 or 1949, prioritizing Montserrat's rebuild. Assets sold in 1942: the hotel and college. Presence shifted to a chalet in Fiter i Rossell until 1970, then a house in Urbanització Guem in Escaldes—never hosting a permanent community, but a base for Father Cebrià Baraut's long stays.

Juliol highlighted further ties, like FC Andorra's 1942 founding around the Meritxell school by monk Enric Graner. He shared these findings in a Wednesday lecture in La Llacuna, organized by the Societat Andorrana de Ciències, titled "Del Llobregat a la Valira: la presència històrica dels monjos de Montserrat a Andorra." Attendees included Escaldes and Canillo síndics Carles Ensenyat and Sandra Codina, Copríncep Bishop's representative Eduard Ibáñez, and local clergy.

These events underscore Andorra's role in Montserrat's millennium-long story, marked in 2025. The abbey sees 2.5 million visitors annually—devout and tourists alike. Juliol aims for all to "ascend as tourists and descend as pilgrims," amid anticipation for a papal visit from a leader focused on peace and the vulnerable. He eyes a 2029 centenary event for the monks' arrival.