On paper, Luis Valls held a Doctorate in Law; these were his higher studies and as a member of Opus Dei, he studied Philosophy, Theology, and related disciplines throughout his life However, this alone wouldn’t have provided him with the extensive culture he possessed. Where did it come from then? Quite simply, familial inheritance and books, books, and more books. It’s no wonder he was an avid reader. His broad cultural upbringing came from his family. His father was a great intellectual. For instance, it was common in the Valls household that during meals, they didn’t talk much; classical music was played instead. Additionally, his father’s library was immense. He was a librarian and almost certainly the person who instilled Luis’ passion for relentless reading. Luis Valls was known for his penchant for setting up libraries wherever he went, and he also advocated for their establishment in places frequented by young people, such as schools, cultural associations, or university residences.

In an era when knowledge primarily came from books, it’s no coincidence that someone with such an enthusiasm for lifelong learning carried on what was instilled at home and never ceased reading. Books were his greatest treasure, inherited from his father. In Jaime Díaz Yáñez’s thesis ³ on Luis Valls, the author recalls a passage that describes how he inherited from his father a deep respect for reading:⁴: “Another very personal trait of our friend (referring to Ferrán Valls-Taberner, Luis’s father) was his marked respect for books. He often came loaded with them. When consulting a volume while standing before a bookshelf, his characteristic habit, he would hold it in his hands, turning the pages carefully as if handling a precious object. He reproached anyone who closed a book with something inside that might affect the binding because of the added pressure.”