Santa María de Viaceli Abbey

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Viaceli Trappist Abbey - Cóbreces

The Abbey of Santa María de Viaceli (Latin Abbatia Beatae Mariae de Via Coeli ) is a Trappist monastery in the Spanish town of Cóbreces ( Cantabria ). She is best known for the martyrdom of Prior P. Pío Heredia Zubía and 18 other conventuals during the Spanish Civil War .

location

The Abbey of Santa María de Viaceli is located in the locality of Cóbreces in the Cantabrian municipality of Alfoz de Lloredo . It is located on the Bay of Biscay , about 30 kilometers southwest of Santander .

history

Beginnings

The monastery was founded at the beginning of the 20th century at the request of the brothers Antonio and Manuel Bernaldo de Quirós, who made their family property available for the establishment of an agricultural school , which was to be looked after by Trappist monks. The educational establishment was built between 1904 and 1906, and the monastery building was erected between 1906 and 1910. In 1912 the first community moved into the monastery. This was largely made up of monks from the French abbey of Sainte-Marie du Désert . In 1926 the monastery was elevated to an abbey .

As an agricultural educational institution, the monastery quickly succeeded in exerting an invigorating influence on the region and contributing to social development. Young people from all over Spain were trained in agricultural techniques. A larger agricultural company was also connected to the training facility and was active in various branches of production.

View of the abbey

Spanish Civil War

Since the beginning of the war in July 1936 there have been repeated attacks and acts of violence against religious communities. The convent in Cóbreces was at the discretion of the local groups of the socialist Frente Popular , who repeatedly carried out house searches and body searches in the abbey because they falsely suspected an arsenal there. Nevertheless, religious life could be continued without restriction until mid-August.

On August 20th, the Popular Frente issued a decree proclaiming the abolition of the Catholic cult and the closure of the places of worship. The keys of all churches had to be handed in. In many cases, valuable liturgical vessels and other objects were confiscated by the socialists. The monastic life in Cóbreces could only be led inside the monastery. Individual monks were refused to leave the country several times.

On September 8, the monks were asked by socialist and anarchist militias to gather in the entrance area of ​​the monastery and get into trucks. They were then taken to Santander and temporarily locked up in the Salesian College there . Only the two economists P. Eugenio García Pampliega and P. Vicente Pastor Garrido were held back in the monastery because they suspected a lot of money and hoped to be able to find out the location of the monastery treasure. When they refused to provide information and did not deny their belief in God despite repeated requests, they were taken to the village of Rumoroso , 20 kilometers away, on September 21 , where they were shot and their bodies dragged into the ditch. The economists' bodies were found the next day and buried in the local cemetery. Today they are buried in the reading aisle of Santa Maria de Viaceli.

The remaining monks in Santander were released after five or ten days due to a lack of charges. A return to the monastery, which was occupied by the militia, seemed impossible. The convent was divided into several groups, which individually tried to find shelter. A large part managed to travel to Bilbao , where the religious communities suffered less persecution. Others stayed in Santander and were taken into private apartments, where they tried to continue the religious community in secret. Among them are the groups around the prior of the monastery, Fr. Pio Heredia Zubía, and Fr. Eustaquio García Chicote, who formed a small community together with a few conversing brothers .

On December 1st, Ms. Eustaquio's group was arrested again on the basis of a complaint, taken to a torture chamber and interrogated by the Marxist police. This wanted to find out who was caring for the monks' livelihood. The Conversation Brothers testified that Father Pio was taking care of it, whereupon the second group around him was arrested under this pretext and questioned about his supporters under torture. He vehemently refused to provide any information.

On the night of December 2nd and 3rd, Fr. Pio's group, which included 6 people - including four priest monks - was picked up by militiamen and brought in trucks. After that, their track is lost. The following night the group of five around Fr. Eustaquio suffered the same fate. On the basis of conversations among the executives, as reported by witnesses, it is believed that they were thrown into the sea from boats off the coast of Cantabria after their hands were bandaged behind their backs and weights were tied on. It is also possible that they fell from the Cantabrian cliffs .

A few days later, Fr. Marcelino Martín Rubio was executed, who was also a member of the association around Father Pio, but was not arrested with the others. At the end of the month, socialist soldiers also shot and killed Ms. Leandro Gómez Gil from a third group, most of which consisted of students and conversations, but which had disbanded as a result of the events of December 2nd and 3rd. Before he was murdered, after he had revealed that he was a religious, he was allegedly tortured so cruelly that a bed sheet was completely soaked in his blood.

Another execution in connection with the Abbey of Santa Maria de Viaceli, which took place at the end of July, concerned Fr. José Camí Camí. He was an ordained diocesan priest , wanted to enter the monastery in Cóbreces and was already accepted as a postulant . While he was at home to say goodbye to his family, he was arrested and brutally executed with another priest. It is reported that the two clergymen were tied to a car and dragged along the road for 13 kilometers at full speed. At a wayside cross, the perpetrators would have stopped the car. According to eyewitness reports, the priests were still able to get up, hug each other and forgive the torturers. Then they were killed by gunfire. The perpetrators then ran the car over the two bodies several times and left them crushed.

Another three monks from the Abbey of Cóbreces perished because of their beliefs during the Spanish Civil War. The young age of most of the victims is particularly striking: of the 19 executed, 15 were not older than 33 years.

The process of beatification for Fr. Pío and his 18 companions is at an advanced stage. On 23 January 2015 saw Pope Francis death of religious martyrdom as "out of hatred for the faith" and thus approved the proposal of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints , Cardinal Angelo Amato , the beatification .

After 1939

After the end of the Spanish Civil War, teaching continued in the monastic agricultural school. By 1968 the convent had grown to 80 monks. In 1975 the educational institution was given the responsibility of the Ministry of Education . In 1989 the subsidiary Jarabacoa was founded in the Dominican Republic . Today almost 30 religious live in the abbey.

Architecture and art

View of the dome and tower

The Santa Maria de Viaceli Abbey is the first building in Spain to be constructed entirely from reinforced concrete . The neo-Gothic building stands out due to its balanced proportions and its forms follow the medieval Cistercian architecture. It is probably the last Cistercian monastery in the world, the construction plan of which is entirely based on the traditional Cistercian style elements.

The facade is defined by arched windows with intermediate posts ( ajimez ) and pointed arches. Directly next to the cloister is the neo-Gothic monastery church, which has the floor plan of a Latin cross . It has a polygonal apse , the naves are closed at the top by a ribbed vault . An octagonal domed vault rises above the crossing , on which a tower is placed on the outside. In 1962 the original tower burned down after being struck by lightning.

The monastery has an old library of great value.

Economy and science

Cheese making

The Abbey of Santa Maria de Viaceli is known for the production of the famous cheese called "Trapa" or "Cóbreces". The tradition of cheese production has existed since 1908 and goes back to the operation of the agricultural training institute, to which a farm and a cheese dairy were attached. The production takes place according to a Franco-Belgian recipe, whereby the cheese wheels mature for up to 30 days in a room directly below the altar of the abbey church.

In addition to the cheese factory, the monks make their living by running a guest house. Many pilgrims visit the abbey on the Way of St. James to spend a few days of quiet and contemplation.

Magazine «Cistercium»

The monastery is entrusted with the management of the religious magazine «Cistercium», founded in 1949 and published by the Spanish Trappist Congregation. It covers topics relating to monastic and Cistercian history, art and spirituality and is published every six months.

literature

Web links

Commons : Abbey of Santa María de Viaceli  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Cóbreces. In: Agencia de Desarrollo Local del Ayuntamiento de Lloredo (ed.): Acércate, pasea y descubre ... Alfoz de Lloredo. ( Memento of July 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Alfoz de Lloredo 2006, p. 25.
  2. ↑ See Abadía de Santa María de Viaceli. Contribution to "catholic.net". Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  3. ↑ See La abadía de Viaceli de Cóbreces celebró ayer su centenario en la región. Report on the centenaries of the abbey with information about the farms. Santander. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, pp. 3–4.
  5. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, p. 4.
  6. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, p. 4.
  7. ↑ See Pío Heredia y sus 18 compañeros. Mártires de Viaceli, España. Page about the "vida monastica". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, pp. 4–5.
  9. ↑ See Pío Heredia y sus 18 compañeros. Mártires de Viaceli, España. Page about the "vida monastica". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, pp. 4–5.
  11. ↑ See Pío Heredia y sus 18 compañeros. Mártires de Viaceli, España. Page about the "vida monastica". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ See Pío Heredia y sus 18 compañeros. Mártires de Viaceli, España. Page about the "vida monastica". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  13. ↑ See Pío Heredia y sus 18 compañeros. Mártires de Viaceli, España. Page about the "vida monastica". Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, p. 8.
  15. ↑ See Abadía Cisterciense de Viaceli (ed.): P. Pío Heredia y compañeros Mártires. ( Memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cóbreces 2014, p. 8.
  16. ^ Gabriel Ariza: Asesinados en la Guerra Civil por odio a la fe. Report on the recognition of martyrdom by Pope Francis on "Infovaticana". January 23, 2015. Accessed February 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ Cf. Beatification Decree. ( Memento of July 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Santander, Valencia 2015.
  18. ↑ See Cóbreces. In: Agencia de Desarrollo Local del Ayuntamiento de Lloredo (ed.): Alfoz de Lloredo. ( Memento of July 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Alfoz de Lloredo 2006, p. 25.
  19. ↑ See La abadía de Viaceli de Cóbreces celebró ayer su centenario en la región. Report on the centenaries of the abbey with information about the farms. Santander. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  20. ↑ See Abadía de Santa María de Viaceli. Contribution to "catholic.net". Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  21. ↑ See La abadía de Viaceli de Cóbreces celebró ayer su centenario en la región. Report on the centenaries of the abbey with information about the farms. Santander. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  22. ↑ See Cóbreces. In: Agencia de Desarrollo Local del Ayuntamiento de Lloredo (ed.): Acércate, pasea y descubre ... Alfoz de Lloredo. ( Memento of July 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Alfoz de Lloredo 2006, p. 24.
  23. ↑ See Cóbreces. In: Agencia de Desarrollo Local del Ayuntamiento de Lloredo (ed.): Acércate, pasea y descubre ... Alfoz de Lloredo. ( Memento of July 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Alfoz de Lloredo 2006, p. 24.
  24. ↑ See El 'Queso Trapa' que los monjes de Cóbreces maduran bajo el altar se puede degustar hasta el 24 en Valladolid. Europapress report with information on cheese production in Cóbreces. Valladolid / Santander April 21, 2011. Accessed February 16, 2015.
  25. ↑ Abadia de Santa María de Viaceli. Contribution to "catholic.net". Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  26. ↑ Cf. Cistercium, revista monástica cisterciense. Homepage of the order magazine. Retrieved February 16, 2015.

Coordinates: 43 ° 23 ′ 9.7 "  N , 4 ° 12 ′ 45.2"  W.