The Cistercian bishop Erik Varden, who led the spiritual exercises of Pope Leo XIV and the Roman Curia at the end of February, spent a day at the Valley of the Fallen with the Benedictine community that has custodied the abbey since 1958.
According to El Debate, the visit took place in October 2023, although the photograph of the encounter had not been made public until now. During his stay, the Norwegian prelate lived with the monks and learned firsthand about the situation facing the site amid the plans of Pedro Sánchez’s Government to “reinterpret” the monument and expel the Benedictine community.
A day with the Benedictine monks
Sources from the Benedictine abbey explained to the aforementioned media that Monsignor Varden spent the entire day with the community and showed himself to be close to the religious. The bishop lunched with the monks, prayed with them, and toured various spaces in the monastic complex.
During his visit, he learned about the abbey, the guesthouse, and the choir school, the school for boy singers that is part of the liturgical life of the Valley. There he was able to greet the nearly forty students who make up this institution, which was later declared a Cultural Interest Asset (BIC) by the Community of Madrid.
The Valley of the Fallen and the political offensive to “reinterpret” it
The Norwegian bishop’s visit took place at a time of strong tension regarding the future of the Valley of the Fallen. The Spanish Government was then promoting its project to “reinterpret” the complex and proposing the expulsion of the Benedictine monks in charge of the abbey.
During his stay, Varden was able to learn the details of this situation and conveyed his support to the religious community residing in the enclosure built at the foot of the largest cross in the world.
The bishop also descended into the basilica, where the remains of more than 33,800 people who died during the Spanish Civil War rest, belonging to both sides. Among them are 114 martyrs killed out of hatred for the faith, whose beatification causes are currently in process.
A Cistercian bishop close to the Pope
Erik Varden, born in Sarpsborg (Norway) in 1974, belongs to the Order of Cîteaux, a monastic reform that emerged in the 11th century seeking to recover the original spirit of the rule of St. Benedict, also followed by the Benedictines.
The prelate, bishop of Trondheim since 2020, is also the author of various books on spirituality that have had notable international diffusion and was recently summoned by Leo XIV to lead the spiritual exercises of the Roman Curia held at the end of February.