Opus Dei
Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church. It was founded in Madrid on October 2, 1928 by Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Its mission is to spread the message of the universal call to holiness and apostolate in the world. Namely, that all Christians are called to live as children of God in ordinary life, turning their work and the ordinary circumstances of their life into occasions for growing closer to God, for serving others and for apostolate.
At the same time as Opus Dei urges its faithful to practice an intense life of prayer, it offers them appropriate means of Christian and spiritual formation (classes, retreats, priestly care etc.). The faithful are also encouraged to commit themselves to helping their contemporaries in the renewal and improvement of culture, civilization and the social realities, invigorating them with the love and truth that Christ brought to the earth.
At present, the faithful of the Prelature number more than 85,000 in the five continents. The headquarters is in Rome (Viale Bruno Buozzi 75). The prelatic church, Our Lady of Peace, is also to be found in Rome.
Further information may be obtained at www.opusdei.org.
1928-1946 | 1946-1975 | 1975-Today | Expansion of Opus Dei
1946. The founder of Opus Dei moved to Rome. In the years that followed, he would travel from Rome throughout Europe to prepare the beginnings of the work of Opus Dei in several different countries.
1947. 24 February: The Holy See granted Opus Dei its first Pontifical approval.
1948. 29 June: The founder established the Roman College of the Holy Cross, where from that time on, numerous members of Opus Dei would study and receive a deep spiritual and pastoral formation, while taking courses at various pontifical teaching establishments in Rome.
1950. 16 June: Pius XII granted the definitive approval to Opus Dei. This approval enabled married people to join Opus Dei, and secular clergy to be admitted to the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross.
1952. The University of Navarra was founded in Pamplona, Spain.
1953. 12 December: The Roman College of Holy Mary was established to provide an intense spiritual, theological and apostolic formation for women of Opus Dei from all over the world.
1957. The Holy See entrusted the prelature of Yauyos, a mountainous region of Peru, to Opus Dei.
 1965. 21 November: Paul VI inaugurated the ELIS Centre, a vocational training centre for young people located in an industrial sector of Rome, together with a parish entrusted to Opus Dei by the Holy See.
1969. A special general congress of Opus Dei met in Rome to study the change of Opus Dei’s legal status in the Church to that of a personal prelature, a juridical structure introduced by the Second Vatican Council and ideally suited to the pastoral characteristics of Opus Dei.
1970. The founder of Opus Dei travelled to Mexico. He prayed for nine days at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and addressed large groups of people on topics affecting their Christian life. This was the first of what he called his catechetical journeys.
1972. St. Josemaría Escrivá travelled throughout Spain and Portugal on a catechetical journey lasting two months.
1974. Catechetical journey of the founder to six South American countries: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.
1975. Catechetical journey of the founder to Venezuela and Guatemala. 26 June: Josemaría Escrivá died in Rome. Some 60,000 people were members of Opus Dei at that time.
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