Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Jaume Patrici Sayrach Fatjo Dels Xijeres was born in Barcelona in 1930. Jaume recounts that his family belonged to the Catalan bourgeoisie and had right-wing political affinities. He notes that his father, a Republican and Catalanist, was the exception. Jaume tells that Anarchists attempted to kill his father. He recalls that during the Civil War, his family was kicked out of their apartment and made to live in the servants' quarters. Jaume explains that his family eagerly awaited the arrival of the Nationalists, but Franco and his troops classified the family as an enemy due to their Catalan affiliations. He speaks about his family's double defeat by both the Republic and Franco's dictatorship. Jaume links this experience to his decision to become a priest and preach in the working class, immigrant neighborhood of Santa Coloma in 1965. He narrates his participation in the local neighborhood associations, commenting that the police detained him twice for participating in protests. Jaume relates publishing the magazine Grama, which allowed neighborhood members to discuss their problems. He describes the relationship between the priests of the working class and the Catholic Church's hierarchy, detailing his own expulsion from the Church and erasure from its history. Jaume discusses entering the local government and helping the city develop an alternative and popular urban development plan for Santa Coloma following the Transition