Dr. Francesc Torralba (center) during the gala
Francesc Torralba, Director of the Ethos Chair of Applied Ethics at Ramon Llull University and of the Chair of Christian Thought of the Diocese of Urgell; member of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See; and full academician of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), has been awarded the Josep Pla Prize, granted by the publishing house Destino, for his work «Anatomia de l’esperança (Anatomy of Hope). The award was presented during the traditional Epiphany Day gala held in Barcelona, at which the Nadal Prize was also awarded, this year to David Uclés. As the author himself explained, the winning work is an essay that explores the mechanisms that sustain the human spirit when everything seems lost, through philosophy, literature, and human experience. It also delves deeper into themes addressed in his two previous publications, «La Paraula que em sosté» and «No hi ha paraules. Com assumir la mort d’un fill», in which he shares his grief over the tragic death of his 26-year-old son Oriol in a mountain accident during a trek they were undertaking together.
«I have tried to write an essay on hope with intellectual legitimacy, because we are sometimes labeled as naïve, childish, or poorly informed optimists. Yet without hope it is impossible to live. This is a very countercultural kind of discourse, because in general narratives about the future tend to be apocalyptic or dystopian. Crafting a well-grounded discourse on hope is a complex intellectual exercise, one I have attempted with care and humility. It will be up to readers to decide whether I have succeeded», the academic said after receiving the award.
The jury—comprising writers and cultural commentators Montse Barderi, Jaume Clotet, Manuel Forcano, Glòria Gasch, and David Bueno—highlighted the clear and profound prose with which Torralba has written this latest work in his extensive body of writing. «It shows how horizons are built, how meaning is reborn, and why we need more than ever this indestructible trust that keeps us standing despite everything», the jury’s decision stated. The gala, held at the Hotel Palace in Barcelona, was attended by the President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa; the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun; the Minister of Culture of Catalonia, Sònia Hernández; the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; and renowned writers such as Lluís Foix, Najat El Hachmi, Alicia Giménez Bartlett, Xavier Pla, Eva Piquer, and Ada Castells, among other notable figures.
A lecturer and prominent communicator of Christian humanism in major Catalan media outlets such as Catalunya Ràdio and the newspapers «La Vanguardia» and «El Punt Avui», Torralba is the author of notable books including «El sentit de la vida» (2008), «No passeu de llarg» 2010), «El valor de tenir valors»(2012), «Un mar d’emocions»(2013), «Córrer per pensar i sentir»(2015), «Saber dir no»(2016), and «Món volàtil» (2018). During the pandemic, he published «Humildad»; «Paraules de consol. En la mort d’un ésser estimat»; «Formar personas. La teología de la educación de Edith Stein»; «Vivir en lo esencial. Ideas y preguntas después de la pandemia»; and «L’ètica algorítmica», which received the Bones Lletres Prize for Humanistic Essay awarded by the Royal Academy of Good Letters and Edicions62. He also authored «La façana de la Glòria de la Sagrada Família. Fonts espirituals i teològiques de l’escatologia d’Antoni Gaudí», the result of his fourth doctoral dissertation; «Cuando todo se desmorona. Meditar con Kierkegaard»(2023); «No hi ha paraules. Com assumir la mort d’un fill» (2024); and «Benaurances per a agnòstics» (2024). In 2023, he was honored with the Ratzinger Prize, awarded by the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI.
