A first board meeting in 15 years

King Felipe VI chaired the board, or Patronato, of the Royal Monastery of Poblet in Vimbodí i Poblet, Tarragona, on Thursday, 15 October 2026. It was the first meeting of the board in 15 years, and the previous one was held in 2011 under Artur Mas. The session began shortly after 11.10 and coincided with the 35th anniversary of Poblet's declaration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Attending were Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun, Catalan president Salvador Illa, Valencian president Juanfran Pérez Llorca, Balearic president Marga Prohens, Aragonese president Jorge Azcón, Abbot Rafael Barruè and the central government's delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto.

Cooperation and shared heritage

The King asked the four communities to use the considerable potential for cooperation among their territories, which he said is reflected in how the monastery is preserved and managed. He told the board that Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearics and Aragón share common challenges in several fields, and that the heritage could serve as a pretext for exchanging ideas. He recalled that Poblet once served as a point of union for the territories of the Crown of Aragon, a "nodal and collaborative structure" that anticipated what is now called networks.

“I encourage you, as the board, to give continuity to this whole web of relations and common interests that was, in its time, the core of this monument.”

Pérez Llorca described the shared legacy of the Crown of Aragon as a historical reality without which today's autonomous Spain could not be conceived. He linked it to Jaume I's founding of the Kingdom of Valencia and said his community wants to contribute to Spain's autonomous model with its own voice. He also pointed to fire prevention, emergency management and the Cantabrian and Mediterranean corridors as areas where dialogue could help.

A rotating meeting from 2027

Azcón proposed that the four territories of the former Crown of Aragon meet every year on a rotating basis, beginning in 2027 in Aragón, and he offered to host the next gathering. He framed the proposal as a way to keep alive the willingness to dialogue expressed that day.

“Faced with the dispute, let us seek dialogue. In the face of noise and disagreement, let us champion tolerance, solidarity and good neighbourliness.”

Azcón thanked the Generalitat de Catalunya for backing the day and for recovering the memory of the monastery. He did not explicitly mention the Sijena paintings, which Aragón expects the MNAC to return. eldiario.es recalled his earlier clashes with Catalonia over the Amnesty Law, the Sijena assets and a migrant minor housed in Teruel.

Calls for a dedicated law and a forum

Abbot Rafael Barruè publicly asked for a specific law for Poblet, modelled on the legislation that governs Montserrat, to promote and protect the monastery. Salvador Illa proposed creating a "Fórum de Poblet" as a space for mutual collaboration between territories. Ernest Urtasun asked the King to relaunch the monastery. Together, these proposals move the discussion from symbolism toward governance, though none of them was described as having been adopted.

Ceremony at the royal pantheon

After the board session, the four regional presidents, Pérez Llorca, Illa, Azcón and Prohens, laid a laurel wreath at the tomb of Jaume I, according to sources from the Generalitat. The small ceremony, which the abbot also attended, marked the 750th anniversary of the death of the king who founded the former Kingdom of Valencia. The royal pantheon also holds the remains of Pere el Ceremoniós, Alfonso el Casto, Juan I el Cazador, Martín el Humano, Fernando de Antequera, Alfonso el Magnánimo and Juan II, as well as several of their wives.