The youngest Catholic bishop in Spain with 48 years, Mons. Josep-Lluís Serrano, swore on June 26 as Episcopal Copríncipe of the Principality of Andorra, following the provisions of the constitution of the small state located between Spain and France.
According to the website From the bishopric of Urgell, which leads Mons. Serrano, the swearing was carried out in the Consell General of the Valls of Andorra, “in a solemn act to which the highest authorities of the Principality have attended.”
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Mons. Serrano was accompanied by the representative of the Episcopal Coprinipe, Eduard Ibáñez and was received by the head of Government of Andorra, Xavier Espot.
Together they already went to the church of Sant Esteve, where the priests of the Valls were waiting for them, and the first advisor and current representative of the Apostolic Nunciature in Spain, Mons. Roman Walczak.
After the protocol greetings to the general trustee of the Valls, Carles Ensenyat; the General Subindic, Sandra Codina, and the representative of the French Copriny; Bishop Serrano swore to exercise the functions of Copríncipe, according to the Andorran Constitution and the trustee gave him the institutional medal, and then give his greeting.
At the end of the session of the Consell General, the authorities went to the Plaza del Consell, crossing a corridor formed by the Local Police Corps, which paid honors with Salvas.
At the end of Mons. Serrano signed the Book of Honor and received the Andorran passport from Xavier Espot.
The episcopal co -prince of Andorra
Andorra, officially Principality of Andorra, is a small sovereign state located between the Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Spain) and the French region of Occitania.
Andorra’s episcopal copríncipe is, with the president of France, one of the two heads of state of the Principality of Andorra. This position corresponds to the bishop of Urgell, currently Mons. Josep -Lluís Serrano Pentinat
The figure of the episcopal coprincipe is originated in the PareatgesAgreements of the late thirteenth century that established the copricyard in which the bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix – then King of France and today the President – share the leadership of the Principality.
According to the Constitution of Andorra, copríncipes are a symbol of permanence, independence and balance. They have formal functions such as signing laws and approveing regulations, among others. However, its role is more institutional and ceremonial than executive, and its work takes place through representatives.
Walter Sánchez Silva
I am husband since 2008. With my wife we have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before birth. Since I joined ACI Press in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Colonia, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the family’s synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Sinodality, in 2023. I follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers the persecution of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as the ecclesial news in the region.