Two unpublished handwritten letters show the support that Pope Francis gave to the bishop of Barbastro-Monzón, Ángel Pérez Pueyo, during his confrontation with Opus Dei over the sanctuary of Torreciudad. In one of them, dated July 13, 2023, Jorge Mario Bergoglio wrote to the prelate "Do not yield," while in another, from October 13, 2024, he warned him of the "mafia intrigues that are underway" around the conflict.
The documents reveal a direct involvement of the pontiff in a dispute that had been open for years and that pitted the Huesca diocese against the organization founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá. The content of the letters also provides new details about Francis's position regarding the differences between both parties and about his relationship with Pérez Pueyo during the most delicate moments of the confrontation.
The existence of the writings is particularly relevant because Francis passed away in April 2025 and because the conflict of Torreciudad continues without a definitive solution under the papacy of León XIV. The publication of the documents allows for firsthand knowledge of the criteria that his predecessor maintained regarding the litigation.
Two handwritten messages
The first letter is dated July 13, 2023. In it, Francis conveyed to the bishop a brief and explicit message: "Do not yield". The writing occurred when the relationship between the diocese and Opus Dei was going through a stage of negotiations about the legal and pastoral future of Torreciudad.
The second document is dated October 13, 2024. It contains the reference to the "mafia intrigues that are underway", a particularly forceful expression to describe the scenario that the pontiff perceived around the dispute.
Between both communications, a personal meeting also took place. On September 18, 2024, Pérez Pueyo met with Francis in St. Peter's Square and, according to the account of the bishop himself, the pope again asked him about the situation of the image of the Virgin of Torreciudad.
The conflict over the Virgin and the sanctuary
The confrontation has as one of its central points the Romanesque image of the Virgin of Los Ángeles of Torreciudad. The diocese maintains that the statue must return to its original hermitage, while Opus Dei holds another position regarding the legal situation of the image and the religious complex.
The dispute dates back to the differences that arose from 2020 regarding the future of Torreciudad. Opus Dei presented a proposal in 2023 to update the legal and pastoral framework of the sanctuary, but the conversations did not lead to an agreement accepted by both parties.
Opus Dei itself maintains that the agreement signed in 1962 allowed a civil entity to have the usufruct of the hermitage through a emphyteutic lease and explains that subsequently the organization took on the care of the worship and the maintenance of the place. The diocese holds a different interpretation regarding the current situation of the image and demands its return.
Francisco intervened directly in 2024
The pope's position acquired an institutional dimension in October 2024, when Francisco appointed Archbishop Alejandro Arellano as extraordinary commissioner for Torreciudad. The cleric, dean of the Roman Rota Tribunal, was tasked with intervening in the management of the conflict and seeking a solution.
The pontifical intervention occurred after the Holy See had followed the conversations between the diocese and Opus Dei for months. The prelature had sent its proposal for statutes to Barbastro-Monzón in August 2023 and subsequently defended before Rome that it had maintained a favorable disposition towards the agreement.
The diocese, for its part, has insisted that any solution must first resolve the future of the image of the Virgin. Pérez Pueyo has even suggested that Torreciudad be placed under the direct supervision of the Holy See to ensure independent management of the dispute.
The publication of the letters now places the conflict in a new documentary phase: in addition to the positions publicly maintained by the parties, there are private writings in which Francisco recorded his support for the bishop and his perception of the maneuvers surrounding the case.