The birthday of "alternative" feminism?

Anne-Marie Walker

St Valentine’s Day is an important day for most people but this year it is especially important. Why? Is it going to be particularly chocolate-filled? Will there be a mountain of roses? No. It will be the 80th anniversary of the start of the women’s section in Opus Dei and as a woman in Opus Dei that’s really important to me. Tags: Pope John Paul II, Opus Dei, Vatican II, Women

No fear!

José Miguel Cejas

On October 2, 1928, he had been entrusted by God with the task of opening up a new path: “Ordinary Christians. Means: everyday work. Everyone a Saint!” On February 14, he discovered another defining aspect of what God wanted. Contrary to what he first thought – “No fear!” he had written – God wanted there to be women in Opus Dei too. Tags: February 14, Opus Dei, Women

Christopher Columbus and Escriva

Peter Berglar

Josemaria and his first followers remind me of the conquistadors.They were young; they were enthusiastic, fresh, tireless, and enamored of spiritual adventure. Eager for a voyage of discovery, they gathered around a leader they called simply "the Father". Tags: Jesus Christ, Early Christians, Holiness, Josemaria Escriva

He inherited his passion for freedom from his French ancestors

Interview with François Gondrand

The founder of Opus Dei, who had a great big heart, felt very special love for France. He told me he was a quarter French because he had a French grandfather.
Then he said he’d probably inherited his passion for freedom from his French ancestors.
I knew that Paris was one of the two cities he had wanted Opus Dei to spread to, back in 1935. Tags: History, Freedom, books

Time for the poor

Pablo Cabellos

These lines are not written in praise of hunger, hardship or any kind of human want. They are intended to be in praise of using wealth rightly, temperance, generosity and detachment. We are entering on a period of difficulty, economically speaking, and perhaps this means [...] Tags: Charity, Justice, Pope, Poverty

St Josemaria and the Guardian Angels

Bishop Alvaro del Portillo

Opus Dei was founded (in 1928) on October 2 – the feast of the Guardian Angels. St Josemaria’s devotion to the Guardian Angels, whom he saw as celestial protectors and messengers, went back to his childhood. Here Bishop Alvaro del Portillo recalls some aspects of [...] Tags: Alvaro del Portillo, Angels

St Josemaria and Our Lady of Mercy, Barcelona

Marc Argemí

St Josemaria Escriva was a devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary his whole life long. Each of her titles found a place in his heart and some took on special resonance at particular eras in his life. One of these was Our Lady of Mercy, patron of Barcelona, Spain. Tags: Gratitude, Barcelona, History, Our Lady

Christians who live as Christians convince others

Joaquín Navarro-Valls

Navarro-Valls spent over twenty years as press spokesman for the Holy See, working very closely with Pope John Paul II. He highlights John Paul II’s insistence that our faith should become our culture, and transform the world from within. This will happen if Christians really live as Christians. These were some of the themes from a recent conference on Catholics and Public Life. Tags: Culture

Opus Dei Prelature

Msgr.Javier Echevarría

The following are some words by the present Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría, on the significance of the establishment of Opus Dei as a personal prelature of the Catholic Church. Tags: Church, Javier Echevarria, Opus Dei prelature, Vatican II

A deeply human book

John F. Coverdale

In late 1932, the founder of Opus Dei, a young Spanish priest named Josemaría Escrivá, ran off on a primitive mimeograph machine a 15-page pamphlet entitled Spiritual Considerations, which he distributed among people to whom he was giving spiritual advice. Tags: Passionately Loving the World, books