Holy Cross Basilica is 28 kilometres northwest of Madrid

About 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of Madrid, in the heart of a memorial area, is the Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen.

Basilica and an abbey make up the landmark under the tall cross.

To pay tribute to the soldiers who died on both sides during the Spanish Civil War, dictator Francisco Franco of Spain ordered the building to be built.

The corpses of at than 30,000 victims are buried in the compound.

In addition to removing the cross at the memorial site—other public crosses in Spain have already been taken down—a new rule intended to “eliminate Francoist symbols” may also evict the Benedictine monks who have been caring for the monument since 1958 from the monastery next to the basilica.

Both the martyrs’ and the victims’ last resting places from the Spanish Civil War are in jeopardy since the government intends to exhume their graves.

Three additional martyrs will be honoured by the Catholic Church in November, bringing the total number of victims buried at the memorial site to 66.

Additionally, the beatification process for more than 40 Servants of God is now in progress.

Many saints’ relics are displayed in the side chapels of the basilica that rise to the main altar.

Father Santiago Cantera, who served as the Benedictine community’s previous administrator, claimed in an interview with CNA that “the problem is people’s great indifference and ignorance, but I think there are more people who are opposed to destroying this place than people who are in favour of such a move.”

On August 3, he continued, “Many people are tired of [the government] stoking military problems when what we truly have in Spain are economic, social, and job worries.

The prior, a former university professor with a Ph.D. in mediaeval history and author of 21 books, believes that society has to be made aware of the aesthetic, cultural, and religious aspects of the Valley of the Fallen.

These ideals are more important to Father Cantera than any political objectives.

The Benedictine remarked, “We cannot keep using the Civil War of nearly a century ago to support political forces who have no plan for the future and seek to utilise the past to support a Constitution for a new Republic.”

The Congress of Deputies enacted the “Democratic Memory Law” in July. The Senate will discuss it in September.

The more than 33,000 Civil War casualties from both sides might be exhumed according to the new legislation.

According to some estimates, the figures might reach 50,000–70,000. A substantial portion of the basilica would be destroyed in addition to the exhumation.

212 families with relatives buried there make up the Asociación por la Defensa del Valle de los Cados (Association for the Defense of the Valley of the Fallen).

They are Civil War veterans from both sides. However, they are unified in rejecting the exhumation of any of their departed relatives.

Pablo Linares, president of the Association and a fervent protector of the Valley, is descended from a Communist who worked in the Valley under Franco during the Civil War.

Father Anselmo lvarez Navarrete, the abbot emeritus of the monastery, is buried there beside his father, sister, and uncle.

The bill would require the establishment of a “National DNA data bank of Civil War victims” and the demolition of any organisations that “exalt” Franco’s rule, such as the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen Foundation.

The legislation will make it illegal for instructors to promote Franco.

In addition, the name of the location will be altered from “Valley of the Fallen” to “Cuelgamuros Valley,” which is the region’s official name.

With regards to the Valley of the Fallen

A 3,360-acre forest precinct has an underground church called the basilica that was cut out of a mountain. In addition, the property has a guesthouse close to the basilica and a Benedictine monastery.

To sooth the scars left by the Civil War, Franco ordered the basilica and the monastery to be built.

At the basilica, the monks celebrate Mass every day in memory of the deceased and in support of Spain’s unity.

The Benedictine-run Escolana, a residential choir school for boys, provides the Gregorian chants for the services.

Gregorian paleography, the earliest type of Gregorian chant reading, is exclusively taught to youngsters at the Escolana.

The tetragram and two even earlier pneumatic scripts are used to teach them how to sing.

There are now 50 pupils there, ranging in age from 8 to 18.

According to historian Alberto Bárcena Pérez, Franco sought the assistance of town councils and the relatives of the deceased in order to bury as many dead as he could within the basilica.

Despite the fact that he is claimed to have never requested it, Franco was buried beneath the altar.

On October 24, 2019, the government unearthed his corpse in defiance of Franco’s family and the monks.

Because of how the authorities stood during the ceremony, Bárcena asserts that the exhumation was a part of a Freemasonic ritual.

Afterward, the monks performed several private Masses and acts of atonement.

The government would exhume José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the Falange’s founder, whose remains are interred in front of the altar, when the measure is approved.

The Republicans shot him to death when he was 33 years old.

Despite being decades separated, Franco and Primo de Rivera passed away on November 20.

The cross at the basilica was named the biggest free-standing cross in the world by Guinness World Records earlier this year.

Its height was determined to be 152.4 metres (500 feet).

The basilica, which is the longest building in the world at 260 metres (853 feet), is also included in the book of records.

The church’s construction, which took place between 1940 and 1958, cost roughly $229 million.

In April 1960, the church was given the “honour and dignity of a minor basilica” by Pope John XXIII.

It also contains an underground laboratory of gravimetry and tides in two of its basements due to the area’s remarkable geological stability and isolation.

It is used by scientists from all around the globe to research absolute gravity, gravimetry, and earth tides.

The responsibility for raising money falls to Patrimonio, who primarily does so by selling access tickets at the main gate at the foot of the Valley.

According to the legislation, a portion of this money must be sent to the monks in order to pay the salaries of the Escolana and the guesthouse staff.

The monastery is currently preserving the area with the aid of private contributions and other finances after Patrimonio ceased paying the monks four years ago, putting financial strain on it.

According to architects, it would take several million dollars to restore the monastery and basilica.

Patrimonio also prohibits any upkeep projects funded by individual contributions. The whole facility is dilapidated.

After “ferocious harassment” for fifteen years.

Tensions between the government and the religious community have increased since since José Luis Rodrguez Zapatero’s administration approved the “Historical Memory Law” in 2007.

Fr. Cantera said that “we have been viciously harassed.”

Four years ago, I went through a difficult moment, but I saw it as a purifying from which I emerged stronger.

“I was called before the Senate on the topic of exhumations, and it was all due of the media harassment and the desire to create a public spectacle out of me,” he said.

“At that time, we (the monks) were obliged to intercede and make an appeal, and the courts imposed a series of preventive measures postponing the process, since there were families who opposed the exhumation of the remains of other fallen, as is today the case,” he said.

As soon as they realised they had been legally defeated in the first fight, they started attacking me in the media and disparaging me personally.

Despite its challenges, the town continues to attract many young professionals.

There are six monks under the age of 30: two with solemn vows, two who have professed temporary vows, and one postulant who will shortly join.

In addition to their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Benedictines also take a vow of stability.

They typically live there for the rest of their lives after they arrive. This has led to many people being martyred throughout history.