The Restoration of the Eremitorio de San Bartolomé Begins!

Tags

Asociación de Amigos del Eremitorio de San Bartolomé de Rocaforte, Eremitorio de San Bartolomé, Rocaforte, San Bartolomé

As readers of the Franciscanum might remember from last summer, in Spain, in the environs of Pamplona, there exists a hermitage in which St. Francis stayed during his first trip to Spain and which later became one of the first foundations of the Order of Minors in the Iberian Peninsula. The Franciscanum published an English translation of a news article about the Hermitage last year.

Also, Last year we shared some photos of the Hermitage, in its degraded state. Among the first Charitable organizations to make a donation to the Spanish Non Profit which is collecting funds for the work was Save Old St. Mary’s Inc., of Massachusetts, USA, the charity which supports The Franciscan Archive and the apostolic works of Br. Alexis Bugnolo.

You too can make a donation to the Spanish non Profit, Asociación de Amigos del Eremitorio de San Bartolomé de Rocaforte, via their website:  http://eremitoriodesanbartolome.es/ The total cost of the project will be € 234000 approximately. Their site has more information about the Project (Proyecto) and through their contact form you can get in touch directly with Mrs. Soto.

We are happy to report, from our contact at Rocaforte, Mrs. Maria Soto, that work has begun on the restoration.  She has kindly shared with the Franciscanum some photos, which show the repair of the Aspe and Roof of the Church.

That work has begun so soon, it a marvel, considering how expensive historical repairs are in Europe, and that the group caring for the work is not the Order, but a Spanish non profit, which hopes to restore the place as a pilgrimage stop on the way of Santiago.

If you happen to visit Spain this August, be sure to make your way to Rocaforte, near Pamplona, and celebrate the Feast of Saint Bartholomew with them!

Here are the photos of the work in progress at Rocaforte:

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5 Demons which oppose the Foundations of Monasteries

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Aggiornamento, Christ the King, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Liberty, Materialism, Modernism, Vatican II

April 27, 2015:  Often you hear religious and laity lament the dearth of monasteries since Vatican II. Indeed, the falling numbers of vocations and the greatly diminished quality of vocations have led to a great reduction in the numbers of many ancient orders.

At the same time, one often hears of the lack of new foundations, and questions why this is.

As a Franciscan brother who has tried for 18 years to make a foundation, I have some experience with all the devils which work to oppose such a holy endeavor.  Since I have “inside” knowledge from practical experience, I will share what I know, for the benefit of others.

Since evil is dispelled when at once it is named and exorcised, I will first name the 5 evil errors or spirits which oppose monastic foundations and then give my thoughts on the remedy to each one.

1) The Goddess of Liberty has replaced Christ the King

One of the errors of the Enlightement was to exalt reason above faith, that is, the faculty of reasoning without faith above the faculty of reasoning with faith.  As a consequent of this error, the age which saw the French Revolution slaughter thousands of souls and bodies, was one in which liberty was exalted as THE means to man’s ultimate happiness, on earth.

So violent and vicious is the Demon of our age against religion, that He uses every device and error to keep men from concluding that unless they return to the teaching of Christ in all things they shall be lost.  Instead, he attempts to preoccupy men with the consideration that all they have to do is forge peace with their neighbor and mind their own business, allowing everyone their own liberty.

Thus in politics all is aimed at and excused at the altar of Liberty.  And all is done to silence, hide, obscure and overturn the Altar of Jesus Christ.

For this reason, Monasteries are seen as centers of obscurantism which must be stamped out, if not by destruction of the physical structure, by suppression of them in law or subversion of them in the end for which they exist and operate.

Bishops or religious superiors who worship at the altar of the Goddess of Liberty, might at first seem very open to a new foundation, especially if it exalts a liberty which departs from tradition; but if a community veers towards a concept that true liberty consists in submission to Christ and the Holy Spirit, then it is immediately calumniated, opposed and stamped out.  We see this in the recent scandalous actions against the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

Solution: When you see a religious order or monastery persecuted or defamed or denounced because they are doing something which Christ commanded or the Saints praticed, or which comes from before the Council, stand up and defend them with voice, help them with your hands, and support them with even more generous donations. If necessary, lobby the authorities in the Church or State on their behalf.

2) The Denial of Original Sin and its effects on man

This denial has become so complete that in many of the institutions of Catholic learning it is considered antiquarian to even discuss the notion of original sin.  This is partly because, if one admits the existence of original sin and its effects, then the false modern religion of Liberty falls to pieces.  Because, if there was a sin which damned all mankind from the start, then man must seek salvation, not liberty; and a salvation in which his own personal liberty is consecrated and devoted to Christ the King, His only Lord and Savior.

But the denial of original sin is something which is propagated in all human endeavors.  First in the error of liberty of speech and information, in devotion to which Catholic parents give their children cell phones, guaranteeing them a life time of distraction and pornography, trusting that with time they will learn not to be hooked on impurity.

They dress their children in immodest clothes, such that even girls of 4 are dressed like whores used to dress some decades ago.  They give their sons gyms and dolls with exaggerated body parts, so that they end up conceiving male perfection with something which is physical, and then wonder why they have grandchildren out of wedlock or abortions in the family.

They never give their children books about the saints, which might lead them to think that one has to do something decisive to save one’s soul! Like joining a monastery — God forbid! they say.

Solution: Stop living for the sake of your own pleasure or that of those around you: instead, seek first the Kingdom of God over you and your family, by going to confession regularly, asking pardon for your offenses, forgiving those who ask for your forgiveness, and expelling from the home everything which is an occasion to sin for those in it (pornography or impure images for all, liquor for alcoholics, immodest clothing etc.), and by imposing upon yourself a good set of mores, not going out late and being faithful to the duties of your state, keeping your speech dignified, not swearing; and, without a doubt, ignoring and avoiding all mass media or forms of communication which bombard you with examples of bad behavior, e.g. sitcoms, crude-talking radio hosts, pornographic tv series (e.g. on HBO or Game of Thrones, etc.).

Praise the saints and impart to your children that the only thing important in this world is saving your own soul and that of your neighbor.

3) The work of Aggiornamento has replaced the work of Conversion

The third demon is one which possesses the hearts and minds of very many clergy and religious today.  It teaches them to have every anxiety and take every action, even when exaggerated, to keep up with the times.

Consequently, if they detect any movement towards or affirmation of the truths of the Faith or the truths of spirituality which existed before Vatican II, then they pounce upon the “infected” individuals and by every art and stratagem, open and secrete, attempt to dissuade them or coerce them away from such a mindset.

They will therefore insist more and more that the religious of a monastery engage in things ruinous to authentic faith, authentic hope and authentic charity.  Against the first, they will propose ecumenical activities with heretics and unbelievers. Against the second, the will propose presumption of salvation for all. Against the third, they will propose tolerance and consent to the sins of others, especially the impure.

So obsessive are such followers of the Aggiornamento, that to merely cite a document or writing of a Pope or Saint from before the Council, is suspect; to omit a citation to Vatican II, a heresy. To forbid anything for the sake of discipline or virtue is to be puritantical, extreme, rigoristic and old-fashioned.

Solution: Rebuke anyone, even if he is a Bishop or priest or religious, who says or implicates that what was before the Council was not Catholic, or is dangerous to children, adults or vocations. Remind everyone that it is the four last things which alone count: Death, Judgement, Heaven or Hell, and that all who neglect their own souls, will lose them.

4) The replacement of the Social Reign of Christ with Social Justice.

While the work of conversion requires that we consider the 4 last things, which regard the end of every individual and the Last Day of Judgement, it nevertheless remains necessary for Catholics to put their Faith in practice in public life, in family life and in social life.

For that reason Catholics must support and work for those changes which order family and state and every institution, especially in the Church, towards doing Christ’s will for men, for promoting the salvation and sanctification of men, now, and in the future.

Catholics of today fail their duty towards Catholics of tomorrow when they fail to support and found institutions which will contribute to the spread of the faith, the care of souls, and the sanctification of society IN THE FUTURE.

Instead, the error has arisen that Catholics are somehow not faithful Christians if they are not concerned only about the corporal works of mercy for those who have present needs.  Social justice work has been promoted by socialists and communists and the avaricious who use these works for their own gains or social transformation.  So strong is the propaganda in favor of social justice that it is usually the first basis of a criticism against monastic foundations, which seek to care for all souls and their salvation in the future, not just the material needs of some in the present time.

Solution: Since the present age over emphasizes the corporal works of mercy, devote yourself and your efforts to the spiritual works of mercy and in their promotion.

5) The refusal to see the Will of the Holy Spirit manifest in the Saints and their works

Saint Francis receives the Stigmata of Christ, on the morning of September 14, 1224 A. D., while praying on Mt Alvernia, Tuscany, Italy.

Modern Christians seem to love to talk about the Holy Spirit, almost as much as they are zealous to ignore him.  They speak about doing the will of God the Vivifier, but they work every day to destroy His works and uproot His inspirations in souls.

As devotees of the Goddess of Liberty, they worship the God of surprises and fear most of all the God of continuity or of Tradition.  Thus, they deny in practice if not in word, that the Holy Spirit wrote every word of Sacred Scripture and guided the Church along the paths of Divine, Apostolic and Ecclesiastical Tradition in the Church.

Hence, they deny and denigrate the example, teaching and works, if not even the miracles, of the Saints, during their own lives and after their passing to glory.  Thus, they say we should be inspired by these things, but we should not strive to imitate them; and thus that we are not obliged to follow their teaching, but can merely take it as an inspiring piece of advice, not a moral obligation or exhortation to do what they actually advocate.

Solution:  Respect and honor the pre-Vatican II Saints as monuments of the will of the Holy Spirit for all ages, and support those religious who do the same.

——–

These are just 5 of the chief Demons and errors which plague the world today, and make it quite incomprehensible to superiors and to the general body of the faithful, that anyone should want to found a monastery, let alone one which restored the ancient observances of an order founded by a Saint who lived and died and was glorified by God, before Vatican II.

History of the Eremitorio de San Bartolomé

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Rocaforte, San Bartolomé

A Thousand-year-old Structure with a Roof that is falling-in

Translated from Pamplona Actual (Spanish text)

Rocaforte (Sangüesa, Navarre, Spain), August 28, 2014

The Council of Rocaforte has obtained the property title to the Eremitorio de San Bartolomé from the hands of the Friars Minor and now desires to promote its restoration to maintain it in existence.

“When it rains, more water falls inside than out”, explains María Eugenia Pérez Iriarte, who graphically describes the state of the hermitage of Saint Bartholomew, the first Franciscan foundation in the Iberian Peninsula. The President of the Council of Rocaforte believes that the maintenance in existence of this thousand-year-old structure requires the “urgent restoration of the roof, on which account it is important to beg help. Then, we will be able to think of what we will do with the rest, since the idea is to repair the whole complex, since it has a historic and cultural value that cannot be allowed to be lost”.

The citizens of Rocaforte agree: “It is the first Franciscan convent, which Saint Francis of Assisi founded in Spain and it is a shame that it is in this condition”, explains Javier Soto Gallués, who is 29. The neighbors have watched how the two buildings of the complex, erected as a hermitage and convent have suffered a progressive deterioration, which has accelerated in recent years. The roof is beginning to collapse, which is going to result in the loss of the artistic patrimony of the place: “On the front of the building there used to be an ancient solar dial which disappeared a decade ago”, relates Soto, “and the sacristy used to host painted medieval walls, possibly of the 12^th century, very important on account of being unique in Navarre, and which have entirely deteriorated.”

The first mayor won’t allow “the collapse of a structure which dates from 1098 and holds a privileged position in history as the fourth route of the Camino de Santiago”, which entered Spain, from France, through the pass of Somport. For his part, he accepted on July 30^th, past, the donation of the architectural complex of San Bartolomé from the hands of the Franciscan Province of Arantzazu (Navarre), with the plan to begin its restoration.

A strategic position for strengthening the Ruta Tolosana of the Camino of Santiago in Navarre, “If the paths and roads leading to it and the building itself can be repaired, it can be integrated in the Route which passes through the cities of Jaca, la Foz de Lumbier and runs from Racaforte to Izco. It will serve to strengthen this part of the St. James’ Road through Navarre, uniting it with the ones in Aragón, particularly with those from Jaca and Zaragoza,” is the opinion of Jesús Tanco Lerga, co-founder and ex-president of the Association of Friends of the Camino of Santiago.

Tanco, a historian from Olite, believes that Navarre has cared for the route from where it enters the Spanish region from San Juan de Pie de Puerto, where the three routes from France join up. “However, this route which comes from Toulouse, originating in Provence from Italy, which is called the fourth Tolosian Road, needs, in my opinion, to be safeguarded by the Navarre Regional Government.”

History and Legends surrounding the Thousand-year-old shrine

The hermitage of San Bartolomé, constructed by King Pedro I, to commemorate a military victory in 1098 A. D. was converted in 1213 into the first Franciscan foundation in the Iberian Peninsula, and was a destination point for Templars, Pilgrims and lovers of nature.

According to tradition, St. Francis of Assisi had to sleep in Rocaforte and having struck the ground with his walking stick, there sprang-up a leafy Mulberry tree, which though dried up, still remains, and whose bark has curative properties.

The Saint had entered the lands of the ancient Kingdom of Navarre from Italy, proceeding through the pass of Somport, along the Camino of Santiago. In this pilgrimage, which took place from May of 1213 to November of 1215, he had to spend several days in the hermitage. There, he left Friar Bernard of Quintavalle, to care for a sick man. Thus the place was converted into the first Franciscan establishment in the Peninsula and one of the first in the world, whose establishment was confirmed by the Saint a year later, on his return from Compostela and the parts west. (cf. St. Francis’ first biographer, Bl. Thomas of Celano’s First Life of St. Francis, chapter XX, nn. 55-57, in Spanish here.)*

According to tradition, St. Francis felt attracted to the place upon seeing the hermit’s chapel of San Bartolomé, a gothic construction ordered by Pedro I, King of Navarre and Aragon, after his victory against the Muslims in Calasanz on August 24, 1098. Today, the place is the only one existing of the four in the territory of the municipality of Sangüesa, erected with the intention of honoring Saint Bartholomew, who is considered the patron of the triumph of Christendom. The others stood in Ull, as a parish church; in Puyo de Castellón, as a filial church of San Estaban; and a third as a shrine along the river of Onsella y Peña.

The austere construction faces, on the southwest, the village of Rocaforte and its backside the chaparral of the mountains. It is mentioned in the “Little Flowers of Saint Francis” by its anonymous author, a member of the Saint’s order. In the third chapter, he wrote: “At the beginning of the foundation of the Order, when the friars were few and as of yet had no convents, Saint Francis made a pilgrimage to Saint James in Galicia. He took with himself some friars among whom was Friar Bernard. Along the road he met a poor sick man, and charged Friar Bernard to care for him there. Returning from Saint James, Saint Francis met Friar Bernard and the sick man whom he left with him, finding that he was perfectly restored to health, he entrusted to them the foundation of this convent.”

In addition, there exist inscriptions referring to these events on the foundation of the Convent. There, a stone embedded in the wall of the hermitage’s chapel bears this inscription (translated from the Latin): “This monastery, St. Francis founded in honor of Saint Bartholomew, in the year of the Lord 1214”, according to the study by the historial Vicente Villabriga. In the restoration of the building in 1635, Fray Diego Manso, discovered a second stone which read, “This monastery Saint Francis build in honor of Saint Bartholomew, in the year 1213”. A third reference to the passage of the Saint is found in an inscription about 50 feet away at the Fountain of Saint Francis.

The complex, whose cruciform floor plan, dome and apse are Romanesque, was inhabited until 1266 by the Franciscan friars, after which they moved to their convent in Sangüesa, and remained there until its reconstruction in 1635. In 1722, a detached structure was added to the ancient plan of the Franciscan convent, the external structure of which has been practically conserved intact, through the successive and necessary interior remodelings and repairs of the roof; likewise, in the case of the hermitage chapel.

The complex continually housed a stable Franciscan community, until its confiscation by Juan Álvarez Mendizábal (the prime minister of Queen Regent Maria Christina) at the end of the First Carlist War. In 1822 it passed to secular use as a hospice and later as a barn for cattle. The religious care of the hermitage was entrusted to the Franciscans of Olite, who used to open it every August 24^th for a mass of vespers.

This is why, on Saturday, August 23, about 100 citizens of Rocaforte attended mass in honor of St. Bartholomew. The town Council stepped forward to receive the property title, donated by the Franciscan Province of Arantzazu, on July 30^th. However, it now seeks help in confronting the expenses for the restoration, seeing that, as Father José María Martincorena, the local parish priest, says, “You have to have strong reasons to come here to celebrate mass … with an eye always on the roof!”

The hermitage, set among Almond trees, about 1 km from Rocaforte and 4 km from Sangüesa, offers a bucolic setting which is perfectly adapted to the Franciscan spirit of love for nature, and full of legends and traditions entwined to its past, since the “figure of Saint Bartholomew was always important for the Templar Order, great lovers of this Saint, as he symbolized the victory of Christianity and because he was represented as a martyr, skinned with a knife, they considered him as an example for those who desired to change their lives, whether monks or soldiers”, as Jesús Tanco, the historian from Olite says.

(Translation by Br. Alexis Bugnolo — Photos from Town website: Rocaforte.es website)

_______________________________

* For modern Spanish historians who agree, see also, CRONOLOGÍA DE LA VIDA DE SAN FRANCISCO DE ASÍS, por Ignacio Omaechevarría, o.f.m., and RESUMEN CRONOLÓGICO DE LA VIDA DE SAN FRANCISCO DE ASÍS, por Gratien de París, o.f.m.cap.

Here is St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio’s testimony from his Major Life of St. Francis, chapter IX, n. 6 (Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae, tome VIII, p. 531-2):  But though (St. Francis) had already traveled abroad even into Spain, by Divine arrangement, a most grave infirmity came upon him, by which he was obstructed in accomplishing his desire (to travel to Morocco and die as a martyr). — see the context in previous sentences.  Translation by Br. Alexis Bugnolo.

For an extensive study in Spanish, regarding St. Francis’ trip to Spain see Fr. Ignacio Omaechevarria, San Francisco de Assis en la Rioja.

Eremitorio de San Bartolomé

Tags

Rocaforte, San Bartolomé

Photos of the Hermitage of St. Bartholomew, Rocaforte, Spain.

When I see a convent in ruins, I weep with sadness, that such a holy place has been forgotten. These photos are from the website of Rocaforte (rocaforte.es)

Cuando veo a un convent en ruinas, lloro con pena que un lugar tan santo se olvida!

Above: The Convent, seen from the SE, areal photograph.

Above: The convent seen from the SW, in springtime, as one approaches on foot.

Above: the convent seen as one approaches from SW, close-up.

Above: the convent, close up: S face of cloister.

Above: the Convent door, with Rocaforte in the distance.

Above: the door of the Chapel of the convent.

Above: the view of Rocaforte in the distance, from outside the convent.

Above: the convent, seen from the SE in winter, with slight snowfall.

Above: an areal photograph of the convent in winter, with heavy snowfall.