Salbatore Mitxelena

Who is Salbatore Mitxelena?

Salbatore Mitxelena, was a friar and a writer in the Basque language.

He was ordained as a friar in the Franciscan Order and fled the country during the Spanish Civil War. He was the author in 1949 of the first book in Basque written about the Civil War. He preached in Biscay but his ideas brought him into conflict with the church hierarchy of the time and led to his exile to South America during which he continued to write and publish in Basque. He dedicated a book to Miguel de Unamuno, whom he admired in contrast to the majority of Basque writers. He ended his life ministering to Spanish immigrants in Switzerland.