The shrine of Our Lady of Torreciudad is located next to an ancient tower, less than twenty-five kilometers from Barbastro, the birthplace of Saint Josemaría, founder of Opus Dei, the saint of the ordinary. As a two-year-old boy, already given up for dead, he was brought to this small church, whereupon Our Lady healed him. It is quite like being reborn. Very grateful, he arranged for a beautiful church, the Torreciudad shrine, to be built nearby in honor of this Virgin Mary’s devotion. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of this magnificent temple, which is one of the most important Marian shrines in Spain.

In this house of God, its imposing altarpiece-tabernacle stands out, in which the beautiful image of the Virgin of Torreciudad occupies a very privileged place, while the main and central part, around which everything revolves, has been reserved for the tabernacle, for the Blessed Sacrament, for the Lord of all creation. Thus, a very thoughtful, very theological, very Christ-centered vision is charmingly captured.

Saint Josemaría, great messenger of the divine call of every baptized person to holiness and the apostolate, wishing this shrine to be a place of spiritual renewal, arranged for it to have many confessionals, so that there would be many great moral miracles. Indeed, these are taking place. Our Lady of Torreciudad, a most loving mother, brings souls closer to her divine Son, Jesus, thus obtaining many miracles of conversion.

The following anecdote seems to me representative of the fine sensitivity that exists there regarding the sacrament of confession. The rector of the shrine was, many years ago, Don Javier Cremades. Previously, he had been responsible for the placement of 200 confessionals in Madrid’s Retiro Park for World Youth Day (WYD) in 2011, which Benedict XVI attended. The result was 40,000 confessions at that WYD. These 40,000 beautiful pardons have shaped the future of the remaining World Youth Days.

Along the same lines of conversion, in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the Torreciudad sanctuary, there is an impressive-gilded bronze statue depicting the living crucified Christ. He looks at us! Meeting his gaze challenges us, suggesting a very personal dialogue, heart-to-heart, one-on-one, inviting conversion, since Christ, being the Lord of heaven and earth, died on the cross for our sins. Sin, then, is not a minor error, something of little importance. Likewise, among the graceful mountains that embrace the sanctuary and whose feet are bathed in the beautifully blue water of the reservoir, the Stations of the Cross are scattered, like breadcrumbs, thus helping us to engage in a devout consideration of the Holy Passion, leading us, as it were, by the hand to repentance for our sins.

People come to Torreciudad to renew their spirituality, to encounter Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary, of unparalleled beauty, or to convert. Many souls, from all corners of the earth, have renewed their spiritual lives here.

Saint Josemaría also emphasized that marriage is a true wonder, a highly poetic reality, a great sacrament, and that there is a true vocation to marriage. This has favored the arrival of floods of couples to this shrine, including many young, generous couples, open to life. Also, many large families. Therefore, Torreciudad can truly be called by the beautiful name of the shrine of the family.

Many young men and women also go there, thus creating a flourishing of young people who are aware of dreams and ideals, something reflected in their spiritual elevation and also in the simple elegance of their modest dress. The presence of so many young people is a precious sign of hope that astonishes many who had only expected to find a church of pious old ladies. It could therefore be said that the Japanese are losing their espadrilles to be able to photograph it.

This sanctuary of renewal and family, visited by so many young people who aspire to be saints in the midst of the world, and who take advantage of their visit to draw closer to Jesus and Mary, the all-beautiful, is, in turn, a place between an hour and a half and three hours from such important Marian shrines as El Pilar, Montserrat, and especially one that draws a considerable number of millions of visitors each year, Lourdes. This places us before a fact of immense importance for spiritual rebirth: the great evangelizing role of the Virgin Mary, the stealer of hearts. To Jesus, through Mary, with Peter.

In short, the miracle of Torreciudad is that in this sanctuary many souls renew their spiritual life. Here, the journey resumes with a throbbing of hope, with renewed bloom, moved by the divine music that puts heaven within reach. High horizons and beautiful poetry await us!