He was born in Petra (Majorca) in 1935. He was a member of the "blauets de Lluc" (
boys' choir) of the
monastery of Lluc (1945), and became
priest in the
Missionaries of the Sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary in Mallorca. He got a degree in pedagogy, classical philology,
theology and Catalan philology. From 1967 to 1969 he promoted the Catalan language through many schools from Mallorca. In 1971 he came to live in the Valencian Country. Since 1979 he was teacher of Catalan language in the University College of
Castelló de la Plana. From 1984 to 1986 he taught
didactics of the
Catalan language in the School for the Formation of Teachers of Valencia. In 1986 he became
senior lecturer and in 1996 he became
professor of Catalan Philology in the
University of Valencia. He published between 1975 and 1977, in collaboration with
Enric Valor,
Manuel Sanchis i Guarner, J.L. Sanchis, F. Graell and J.C. Bellvert, several texts for the teaching of the Catalan language in the
Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands. Among these,
Els vents del món (
The winds of the world) can be pointed out. He also worked in the edition of the Valencian liturgical texts in Catalan language, and was therefore he was president of the Commission that made the official adaptation of the
liturgical books of the
Second Vatican Council into Catalan language with the Valencian varieties. He also translated the
Gospel into Catalan. He got the "Valencian of the Year" prize in 1977, that is awarded by Huguet Foundation. He was president of the "La Mata de Jonc" Foundation during his last years.
Interdiocesan Commission for liturgical texts in vernacular language On 14 May 1973, the
archbishop of Valencia,
José María García Lahiguera, created an Interdiocesan Commission for texts in vernacular language. It included eighteen members, and Pere Riutort was chosen as its president by a decree issued by the archbishop of Valencia on 18 October 1973. As a result of the work of this commission, the
Llibre del Poble de Déu (Book of the People of God) was published at the end of 1975. This book is a comprehensive summary of liturgical texts adapted to the Valencian variety of the Catalan language. In order to be able to publish this book, Pere Riutort had to sell some lands that he owned in Mallorca. The approval of this book was surrounded by controversy since the beginning, together with the birth of
blaverism in the Valencian society. == References ==