The king visits Catalonia. Does he want forgiveness? No. His speech of October 3, 2017, would do so again. The unity of Spain was in danger. The referendum had violated the Constitution. The rest—the beating of half of Catalonia that went to vote enthusiastically—was a secondary issue. He didn't refer to it then, nor will he refer to it now. But he does want to "normalize" his image in Catalonia. He wants to be the king of all Spaniards, including those Catalans who were once unredeemed.
That's why he chose to go to the monastery of Montserrat, a place where everyone is welcome: a symbol of welcoming Catalan identity, of an open, millennia-old identity, of peaceful civic dignity. The Rule of Saint Benedict is based on the idea of peace and Ora et labora. He will also visit Badía del Vallès, a city that represents the Catalonia that welcomed mass Spanish immigration in the 20th century: seen from the air, it is shaped like a map of Spain. It was built between 1970 and 1973 and inaugurated by the then Prince Juan Carlos in 1975, fifty years ago. It was promoted by the Franco dictatorship, just as the previous dictatorship (that of Primo de Rivera) had promoted the Spanish Village on Montjuïc. In other words, the king is visiting a symbol of the continuity of Catalan identity and a symbol of the Spanishness of Catalonia.
In Badia del Vallès, he will feel fine and relaxed. How will he feel in Montserrat? What will he hear? He will hear a vindication of Benedictine values as the foundation for conflict resolution: that is, a subtle, indirect rebuke of his actions in October 2017. And, to drive the point home, he will also have to hear a vindication of the founder of the Montserrat monastery a thousand years ago: Abbot Oliba (971-146), a key figure in the formation of the Catalan nation and medieval pacifism.
Great-grandson of the legendary Guifré el Pilós, after resigning at the age of 31 as Count of Berga and Ripoll – his father, Oliba Cabreta, had also become a monk and retired to the monastery of Montecassino – and before founding Montserrat, Oliba was Bishop of Vic and Abbot of Cuixà, Sant Martí del Canigó and Ripoll. With the support of Pope Sergius IV, he strengthened monastic life in Catalonia: he promoted austere discipline and cultural connections with the Arab world, both in terms of scientific advances and the recovery of the Greco-Roman legacy. Ripoll de Oliba was essential in this cultural opening and therefore represents the opposite of the closed and defensive identity proclaimed by far right mayor Sílvia Orriols. Pope Sylvester II—the Occitan Gerbert d'Orlach, a philosopher and mathematician who had lived in Ripoll for three years—introduced Arabic numerals, the concept of zero, and the astrolabe to Europe thanks to the knowledge acquired in Ripoll. It is said that he may have also traveled to Córdoba and Seville.
But there is still a more important question regarding the figure of Oliba that King Philip VI will have to hear. With the rise of the feudal system and, therefore, with the privatization of power, disputes between nobles, the arbitrary abuse of peasants—who were progressively becoming serfs—and clashes with the Church intensified. What did Oliba do in this crisis situation? An action of mediation and peacemaking that eventually materialized in the movement of the Peace and Truce of God. He proposed it at the Synod of Elna in 1022 and it was ratified in Toluges in 1027. The Peace and Truce established the right of refuge in churches and sagreras (area around a temple) from Saturday night until the end of Sunday. At the Synods of Vic in 1030 and 1033—the latter presided over by Oliba—it was extended from Thursday to Sunday, and the protection was also extended to the homes of peasants.
In the spirit of Peace and Truce, the events of October 2017 would have gone differently. There was no mediation by the monarchy. There was justification for violence against peaceful citizens. If Felipe VI had been inspired by Abbot Oliba, founder of Montserrat, things would have gone differently, and his figure would not need to be "normalized" in Catalonia.
