Commemorations in Honour of Verdaguer in Madrid The Case of the Monument in Retiro Park

This article discusses the commemorations in homage to Jacint Verdaguer (1845-1902) that were held in Madrid on three occasions, in 1927, 1945, and 1952. To shed light on Madrid’s interest in Verdaguer, it looks at the final years of the poet-priest’s life and examines his struggle to regain his authorisation to give mass, which he lost in 1895. As a case study, this article draws on documentation from the Madrid city archives (Archivo de la Villa de Madrid) to report on the genesis of the monument to Verdaguer in Retiro Park, which was inaugurated in 1961, during the Franco dictatorship.