Lluís Maria Xirinacs

Lluís Maria Xirinacs i Damians (Catalan pronunciation: [ʎuˈiz məˈɾi.ə ʃiɾiˈnaks]; 6 August 1932 – 11 August 2007 ) was a Spanish politician, writer, religious leader and advocate for the independence of the Catalan Countries.

He was born in Barcelona in 1932, and he became a priest when he was 22.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he conducted several hunger strikes, the first a long one against the relationship between church and state during Francisco Franco's regime. The Spanish regime imprisoned him twice (1972 and 1974–75). He declared himself a follower of Gandhi's ideals and employed non-violence in his struggles. For example, he spent twelve hours a day for a year and nine months standing in front of a Barcelona prison until the approval of an amnesty law for political prisoners. As a result of all these actions, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize every year from 1975 to 1977.

In 1977, in the first Spanish elections after the Franco dictatorship, he became senator for Barcelona as an independent candidate. In 1979, he was a candidate for the Spanish Congress of Deputies in a coalition known as Left Bloc of National Freedom (Bloc d'Esquerra d'Alliberament Nacional or BEAN). This reinvigorated the spirit of the former Assembly of Catalonia, of which he also was one of the main promoters. Later on, BEAN presented candidates in the 1980 Catalan Parliament elections; but, in both cases, it did not obtain any representation.

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