Although not mentioned in ecclesiastical circles, other active bishops who speak Catalan should be kept in mind for any eventual surprises. These include the Bishop of Seville, Josep Àngel Sáiz, former Bishop of Terrassa, who is 70 years old and would be seen internally as an incomprehensible and highly improbable move – even though the clergy born in Cuenca is liked by more Hispanist sectors –; the Bishop of Rabat, Cristóbal López, an Andalusian trained in Catalonia and very progressive, but who only has twelve months left before he turns 75 and has to present his resignation; the Bishop of Ibiza, Vicent Ribas, who is serving in his diocese, as is the Bishop of Menorca, Gerard Vilallonga, who are well established; and the Bishop of Santander, the Valencian Arturo Pablo Ros, who had been auxiliary bishop of Valencia. All these would be strange moves.
The Catalan Church opens Pandora's box: who will replace Omella?
Valencia and Aragon are two key quarries to replace Omella as Barcelona's archbishop, but there are other routes such as the Tortosa one
BarcelonaThe visit of Pope Leo XIV to Catalonia is the prelude to the bishop reshuffles in the Principality. Barcelona is the most important, but Terrassa also remains to be renewed and, in the rest of the Catalan Countries, Mallorca. Joan Josep Omella, from Aragon in the Franja, landed in November 2015 at the Archbishopric of Barcelona with the mitre already on from Calahorra. At 80 years old, five years over the normal age for the position, he will cease to be archbishop and the handover will be finalized this summer, after the pontiff's visit. Here comes Operation Barcelona: who are the best-positioned names? What role will Omella and the Pope play?
Omella will have a decisive role. He is part of the Congregation for Bishops, which selects the names before papal approval, although the nuncio, Piero Pioppo, is also fundamental in the consultation task. But Leo XIV will be key: "It is a very important appointment, the last word will lie with the Holy Father," multiple church sources emphasize to ARA. Omella has aligned himself with Pope Francis's reformism, but it has not taken hold in a part of the Church with a more Catalanist tendency – due to the lack of a Catalan national vision and for his use of Spanish in notable speeches, alternating with Catalan.
What should Omella's successor be like? "A person committed to synodality, socially sensitive, with flexibility and diplomacy to be a point of communion," some sources summarize. In fact, there could be an operation similar to the one Omella promoted. However, if it materializes, there is a unanimous consensus that the new figure must "speak Catalan." Catalanism, moreover, also asks that he be from the country. The best-positioned names respond to the Valencian, Aragonese, or Catalan route. The premise of "we want Catalan bishops" has not been imposed recently and the Valencians "have had a lot of presence in Catalonia because they know they will not subscribe to independentist or nationalist theses," several sources point out. Of the last four bishops of Barcelona, one is Valencian, one Aragonese, and two Catalan.
Solsona and Tortosa
the fury of the Spanish far-right for the small steps to normalize Catalan in masses, although it is still residual. In the consultation process about the future bishop, bishops and some prominent priests and laypeople are asked for their opinion through a shortlist where they recommend three names for a bishopric or are asked in abstract about the qualities that would fit a diocese.
Other names from Aragon and Valencia
A name that has also been strongly mentioned and would be very similar to Omella is the Aragonese Florencio Roselló, archbishop of Pamplona. He is not from La Franja, but he masters Catalan due to his training and residence in Catalonia for several years. He has only been bishop of Pamplona for two years, where he has shown himself to be sensitive to the Basque language. Despite his social commitment, the lack of roots in Catalonia raises doubts.
Enric Benavent, archbishop of Valencia, has also been mentioned in ecclesiastical circles for about a year. Valencian with a very Catalanist youth trajectory, he has had problems in his episcopate due to the harshness of the Spanish far-right for the small steps to normalize Catalan in masses, although it is still residual. He has played it safe with the Valencian government following the storm. Conciliatory, he has only been bishop for four years, after having been bishop of Tortosa.
From the Planellas factor to the surprise
Several church voices warn that names have been published about possible replacements for Omella "to burn them" with negative campaigns such as against the Archbishop of Tarragona, Joan Planellas. The fundamentalist blog Germinans Germinabit has fueled this, as Planellas is the voice of Catalanist Church and firm against the far-right. His move would be surprising, but it is not out of the question: in 2004, the Catalanist Lluís Martínez Sistach already arrived in Barcelona from Tarragona.
On the other hand, the auxiliary bishops of Barcelona, David Abadías and Javier Vilanova, are mentioned. Especially Abadías, who is a doctor and his intellect is highlighted. It is strange to go from auxiliary to titular bishop, but it already happened with Daniel Cobo in Madrid. In any case, one of the auxiliaries points more towards Terrassa.
And one must be careful with the "surprise factor," according to sources, which was already seen with recent appointments like Octavi Vilà in Girona, who was abbot of Poblet. In this regard, some mention the abbot of Montserrat, Manel Gasch. At the same time, the good consideration of Father Jordi Bertomeu in the fight against pedophilia has made him the most beloved Catalan in the Vatican, and some think of him, but it would be an unexpected turn. The man from Tortosa is in Peru acting against the Sodalicio.
