Departures of note

Jordi Vila-Abadal spent his early years as a monk at Montserrat and Sant Miquel de Cuixà from 1945 to 1968 before leaving religious life. He later studied medicine, becoming a psychiatrist and founding a pioneering centre for non‑alcoholic drug addictions. He also established the association Acollida i Acció Terapèutica (ATT) and authored several essays and books on youth, drug use, and philosophical reflections.

Beyond his medical work, Vila‑Abadal was active in cultural and political circles. He served as honorary member of the Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana, presided over the Centre Internacional Escarré per a les Minories Ètniques i Nacionals (CIEMEN) in 1998‑1999, founded the Xarxa d'Entitats Cíviques i Culturals dels Països Catalans in 2000, and co‑founded the Plataforma pel Dret a Decidir in 2006. He remained a public intellectual, publishing works up to the age of 96.

He died on 11 August 2026 at the age of 100, having donated his body to science. His contributions to psychiatry, Catalan literature, and minority‑rights activism left a lasting impact on the cultural and medical communities of Catalonia.