He was born in
Folgueroles, a town on the
Plain of Vic, in the
comarca of
Osona (
Province of Barcelona) to a modest family who valued learning. His father, Josep Verdaguer i Ordeix (
Tavèrnoles, 1817 – Folgueroles, 1876), was a brickmason and farmer. His mother, Josepa Santaló i Planes (Folgueroles, 1819–1871), a housewife and farmer, was to exercise great influence over young Jacint, as she conveyed to him a love of literature, especially poetry, and was a deeply religious woman. He was the third of eight children, only three of whom survived. In 1855, at the age of 10, he entered the
Seminary of
Vic, as was expected for a child who was not the first-born under the system of
primogeniture and had to make his livelihood without relying on an inheritance. Until then, he had lived like the other children in his town. The anecdotes told about him show that he stood out from his peers for his intelligence, astuteness and courage, as well as his athletic constitution. He displayed a balanced attitude without any apparent religious inclinations. In 1863, when he was 18, he started to work as a tutor for a family at the Can Tona
masia (where he also helped out on the farm), while he continued to study. Can Tona is in the municipal district of Sant Martí de Riudeperes, today
Calldetenes (
Osona). In 1864, while a seminary student at the , Verdaguer wrote his first published poem
Als estudiants. Recepta, written in the style of a satirical
décima. He was influenced in this endeavour by the popularity of a similar satirical décima, ''Entusiasme d'un estudiant per la cresta'' written by fellow seminary student
Andreu Garriga in 1863. That same year, he participated in
Barcelona's
Floral Games (Jocs Florals) poetry contest, though without distinction. However, he was more successful in the next two Jocs Florals, winning four prizes in 1865 and two in 1866. In the late 1860s, Verdaguer would become the central figure of the , a group of young poets in Vic inspired by the ideals of the Catalan
Renaixença. On 24 September 1870 he was ordained a priest by the bishop Lluís Jordà in Vic, and in October that same year, he said his first Mass, in the
Sant Jordi hermitage. The next day he said his second Mass in the Sant Francesc hermitage near Vic. In 1871, his mother died (January 17) at the age of 52. On September 1 he was appointed bishop
coadjutor of the small town of Vinyoles d'Orís and three days later he took up his charge. In 1873, he published the
cant (ode or song) "Passió de Nostre Senyor Jesucrist" (Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ). He left Vinyoles d'Orís for health reasons and moved to Vic. He went on a trip to
Roussillon and saw the mountain, El
Canigó, possibly for the first time. In December, he joined the Companyia Transatlàntica trans-Atlantic steamship company as a chaplain because he was prescribed sea air for his health; he embarked in
Cádiz bound for
Havana,
Cuba. On 8 September 1876 his father died at the age of 65. On board the "Ciudad Condal", on the return voyage from Cuba, Jacint Verdaguer finished his epic poem ''
L'Atlàntida''. In November he entered the palace of
Antonio López, 1st Marquess of Comillas as an
alms chaplain. In 1877, when he was 32, and having returned from his journey, the jury of the Jocs Florals awarded him the special prize of the
Diputation of
Barcelona for ''L'Atlàntida''. Now he had earned his reputation as a poet. In 1878, he traveled to Rome, where he was granted an audience with
Pope Leo XIII. They discussed Verdaguer's poem ''L'Atlàntida
. In 1880, as the winner of three prizes in the Jocs Florals, he was proclaimed "Master of the Gay Sciences" (Mestre en Gai Saber
). That same year he published his book of poetry, Montserrat'', which included "Llegenda de Montserrat", a legend (or two) in the form of a poem with 13 cantos. In 1883, the Barcelona City Council published a print-run of 100,000 copies of his "Oda a Barcelona" (Ode to Barcelona), a 46-stanza poem. Such a print-run was quite remarkable given that the population of Barcelona at the time was 350,000, which would have amounted to about a copy per household. At the age of 39, Verdaguer traveled to Paris,
Switzerland, Germany and Russia. His collection of poems
Caritat (
Charity, 1885) was published to raise funds for reconstruction after the
1884 Andalusian earthquake. On 21 March 1886, when he was 41 years old, Bishop Morgades crowned him 'Poet of Catalonia' in the monastery of
Ripoll. He published the epic poem
Canigó and made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land. is depicted on the Spanish 1971 500
Pesetas banknote.. In 1893, following controversy about aspects of his work as a priest, he left the post of alms chaplain at
Claudio López, 2nd Marquess of Comillas' palace. The publication of the trilogy
Jesús Infant was completed, and he was assigned to the sanctuary of La Gleva. For a period, he was stripped of his office as priest, although this was eventually restored. In 1894, the books ''Roser de tot l'any
and Veus del bon pastor'' were published. On 31 March he left the sanctuary of La Gleva. On 17 May 1902, his 57th birthday, he moved from his home at Carrer Aragó 235 in Barcelona to the country house known as
Vil·la Joana, in
Vallvidrera (Barcelona), where he hoped to convalesce. On 10 June he died in Vil·la Joana, which is now one of the
Museum of the History of Barcelona (MUHBA) heritage sites. Verdaguer was buried in
Montjuïc Cemetery in Barcelona. He was depicted on the Spanish 1971 500
Pesetas banknote. == Selected works ==