sentences:  The Spanish Republican authorities and the authorities of the Generalitat de Catalunya, such as Lluís Companys, Ventura Gassol and Joan Casanovas, tried to stop anticlerical violence and helped many priests and religious people to hide and leave the country.During the rule of Francisco Franco, Santa Maria de Montserrat was seen as a sanctuary for scholars, artists, politicians and students.Franco's men were often waiting for wanted people a few miles down the road.