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Church of Saint Josemaría, Valencia (Spain): construction progresses

February 18, 2006

Tags: Church of St Josemaria
In June 2005, with the generous help of the local parishioners and many other Valencians, who were motivated by their love for and devotion to Saint Josemaría, construction work began on a new parish church: the first in Spain to be dedicated to Saint Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei.

To mark the canonization of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Archbishop Agustin Garcia-Gasco of Valencia decided to set up a parish with a church dedicated to the new saint. Saint Josemaría had strong links with the city of Valencia: it was the first place after Madrid where he initiated his apostolate, in 1936. He visited it frequently to remind many people of the universal call to holiness through their work and the circumstances of their everyday lives.

The project began when Archbishop Garcia-Gasco announced during the Mass for the centenary of the birth of Blessed Josemaria (as he was then) that he intended to set up a parish church dedicated to the new saint. The cathedral was full of people and there was a loud burst of applause at this announcement, as many of those present had been invoking Blessed Josemaría’s intercession for years past.

The new parish was constituted on October 8, 2002 and the Archbishop asked for it to be run by priests of the Opus Dei prelature. On December 4 that year he appointed Fr. Manuel de Sancristoval y Murua as parish priest, and Fr Javier Santos Aramburo as parish curate, in a very moving ceremony presided over by Bishop Juan Moncho Giner of Valencia.


A very active parish albeit without its church
“The parish,” wrote Pope John Paul II, “… continues to maintain and to carry out its particular mission, which is indispensable and of great relevance for pastoral care and the life of the Church. The parish is still a setting where the faithful are offered opportunities for genuine Christian living and a place for authentic human interaction and socialization, whether in the situations of dispersion and anonymity typical of large modern cities or in areas which are rural and sparsely populated” (Post-synodal Apostolic Letter Ecclesia in Europa, June 28 2003, 15). In this perspective, work began on building the new parish church in Campanar, part of the urban expansion of Valencia. Over the past twenty years not only the population but the economic, social and cultural profile of this district has been growing rapidly. The church will cover an area of 3,200 square metres and will provide for a population of over 15,000.

On October 5, 2003 Archbishop Garcia-Gasco blessed the site and laid the first stone of the future church, but parish life had begun some months before that date. On March 28, 2003 anniversary of Saint Josemaría’s ordination to the priesthood, the first two Masses were celebrated in the chapel of the Niño Jesus School, which was lent as a temporary parish church. Liturgical celebrations and pastoral activities began: confessions, catechism classes, marriage preparation courses, voluntary work, retreats, and more.


The architect of the parish church and related buildings is Juan Francisco Perez Mengual. Construction began on June 1, 2005 and is expected to be completed at the end of 2006. The main nave and choir will seat 600 people, and a chapel will seat an additional 150.

Saint Josemaria Parish has organised a series of catechetical sessions on “Handing on the Faith in the Family”, as part of the preparations for the Fifth World Family Encounter which will be held in Valencia in the first week of July, and which will be visited by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.

For further information about the parish, the church, or the numerous activities organised, visit the website www.parroquiasanjosemaria.org (in Spanish).