<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - Bishopric of Mallorca]]> 10 <![CDATA[The Supreme Court ratifies that the Jerónimas are the owners of the monastery of Santa Isabel de Palma]]>

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal on points of law filed by the Bishopric of Mallorca against the ruling that recognized the Hieronymite nuns of the monastery of Santa Isabel de Palma as owners of the property. Thus, the high court considers the decision issued by the Provincial Court of Palma in May 2024 to be final.

]]> <![CDATA[Cort responds to the Bishopric two months later: "You can accommodate the residents of the old Palma prison"]]>

The complaint of the Bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Taltavull, who has denounced that the Palma City Council ignored the proposal to accommodate people evicted from the old Palma prison, has borne fruit. A few hours after the news became public, the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, sent a letter to the Bishopric asking them to enable "all the resources you have to house the residents of the old Palma prison".

]]> <![CDATA[The given of Grace]]> I read in ARA Balears with surprise —with sad surprise— that the Bishopric of Mallorca has decided to dispense with the caretakers of the sanctuary of Gràcia, Sebastià Amengual and Francisca Miralles, and by means of a cold administrative letter has given them until the end of June to leave this sanctuary in Llucmajor which has been their home for 55 years.It is a decision that the Bishopric should reconsider. This departure, communicated abruptly and in such a short timeframe, is not only an evident injustice from a purely human point of view, but also a lack of respect for the exemplary, enormous work that these two people have carried out at the sanctuary of Gràcia for more than five decades. Furthermore, to forcefully remove Sebastià Amengual and Francisca Miralles from Gràcia would also be to disrespect the memory and the last will of Bishop Antoni Vadell, one of the most brilliant men of the Church that Mallorca has produced in recent decades, who died prematurely four years ago just before turning 50, and who asked to be buried at the hermitage of Gràcia precisely to encourage the Bishopric to protect this very special place with the mention and care it deserves. Even more so: it is an attack against a good that the people of Llucmajor, and many Mallorcans, and many people from outside the island, enjoy and love as intensely as Monsignor Antoni Vadell. This good is precisely Gràcia. A place of prayer and devotion for believers and of recollection, serenity, contemplation, and enjoyment of nature for everyone who approaches it.Anyone who doesn't know it might wonder what makes the sanctuary of Gràcia a special place, as I say. They are a diversity of things, but one of the main ones is the work that Sebastià Amengual and Francisca Miralles have done in this place. When they arrived, in 1970, the place was abandoned and in a deplorable state: with the energy of youth and idealism (it was a time of boom tourism, and it would have been much easier for them to go work on the coast and earn easy money), they settled in a place that was then hostile and abrupt and that over the years, thanks to a tremendous effort impossible to summarize in an article —stonemasonry, gardening, laboring, electrical work—, they have restored, maintained, and made it shine anew. They have also carried out an activity as a restaurant (but restricted, never giving in to the temptation of more or less touristy and gentrified hotel exploitation). An infinite number of weddings, baptisms, and communions have been held there, as is right in a religious place, but also splendid concerts (Maria del Mar Bonet, Ara Malikian, Joan Pons, Joan Miquel Oliver, and Miquel Serra, among others), book presentations, and cultural and social events, always with the motto of maximum respect for the natural environment and for the faith and devotion of many people to Our Lady of Gràcia.What I will say now is more difficult to define, but it is perfectly perceptible to anyone who approaches it: the sanctuary of Gràcia is a place of beauty, a space where we can feel protected and sheltered from the evil that men do, as Shakespeare said. We are not short of such places, and if we have it now it is thanks to the donors Sebastià Amengual and Francisca Miralles. The least that the Bishopric of Mallorca can do is to recognize this task as it should and protect this sanctuary as Bishop Vadell would have wanted.

]]> <![CDATA["After 55 years in Grace, we only ask the Bishopric for a dignified exit"]]>

There are places that have soul, spirit, and strength, but too often we forget that a good part of that soul is given by people. In the Randa massif - already within the municipality of Llucmajor - under the beauty of the majestic rock, is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace. A space that for more than half a century has had two faces that define it: the Algaidinians Sebastián Amengual and Francisca Miralles, the lay brothers of Gracia.

]]> <![CDATA[The City Council still has no "housing solution" for the residents of the former Palma prison]]>

The census of the former Palma prison has risen to 226 residents after some errors were corrected, while the City Council is working against the clock to carry out the eviction of the building. This was explained by the Mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, at the press conference following the meeting of the Municipal Governing Board held this Wednesday, at which the revised count was approved. Most of these people have already been notified of the eviction, and the rest will be notified shortly. At the same time, the City Council is receiving and analyzing the appeals submitted by those affected.

]]> <![CDATA[Part of the roof of the Charterhouse of Valldemossa collapses]]>

Part of the roof of the Charterhouse of Valldemossa collapsed this Saturday. In response to the situation, the Association for the Revitalization of Ancient Centers (ARCA) has criticized the situation, calling for "effective preservation of this monumental complex for years" and stating that the neglect and lack of investment "has been a constant" and has demanded its restoration. "The roofs of the church and the Charterhouse have not been repaired; some are in the process of being repaired, while others are not," explains Concepció Bauçà, a doctor in Art History and member of ARCA. The problem with the Charterhouse goes back a long way. "Sometimes things are done, but not everything," she laments. As the association points out, this is not the first collapse that has occurred at the complex "due to insufficient conservation."

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