A brief biography of St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer by José Luis Illanes

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1 A brief biography of St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer by José Luis Illanes Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( As Pope John Paul II reminded us on October 6, 2002, during the Solemn Mass of Canonization, in his preaching, St. Josemaría Escrivá never ceased to insist that "interior life, that is, the life of relationship with God, and family, professional and social life, made up of small worldly realities should not be separated, but that they should constitute one sole existence, that is 'holy and full of God'". These affirmations effectively summarize the message of St. Josemaría and, at the same time, of his figure, because-in him-the message, priestly activity and the human person were fused into one. THE BARBASTRO AND LOGROÑO YEARS Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás was born in Barbastro (Huesca, Spain) on January 9, His family on both sides was steeped in the cultural and Christian traditions of Spain, as well as colored by the personality and traditions of Aragon. In his parents José Escrivá y Corzán and María de los Dolores Albás y Blanc he had clear examples of faith, and of robust and sincere piety. Josemaría was a student of the Piarist Fathers of Barbastro, where he received his primary education. He also began his high school studies there, but finished them in the National Institute of Logroño, to where his family had moved in José Escrivá and Dolores Albás had their first child, Carmen, in 1899; she was followed by Josemaría and later, by three other girls. The beginning of the 1910s was a period of trials for the family, marked by the deaths of the three younger daughters and a severe economic setback that resulted in the family leaving Aragon and settling in the neighboring province of La Rioja. All this affected Josemaría, who nonetheless remained a young boy with a cheerful and open personality, who continued to apply himself diligently to his studies. One harsh winter's day, when Josemaría was only sixteen, contemplating the footprints left in the snow by a barefoot Carmelite friar walking through the streets of Logroño, he felt a calling that he likened to a loud knock in the depths of his soul. He began to feel that God wanted something from him, though he did not know what it was. In this frame of mind, Josemaría decided to give up the professional ambition he had been considering, a career as an architect, in order to become a priest, convinced that this way he could be an instrument for the fulfillment of God's will. A long period of faith and intense prayer followed, during which Josemaría asked God to manifest what this wish was that he had "felt" but as yet was unable to perceive. "Lord, make me see! Lord, may it be! Our Lady, may it be!" were the aspirations he repeated for many years. They well express his life of prayer and his firm determination to put into practice what God wanted. ZARAGOZA: ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD In 1918 Josemaría began his ecclesiastical studies, as a day scholar, in the Seminary of Logroño, and in 1920 he continued them as a boarder in Zaragoza. He lived in the Seminary of St. Francisco de Paula and attended classes in the Seminary, which at that time had the status of a Pontifical University. In 1922, Cardinal Juan Soldevila, then Archbishop of Zaragoza, who had become aware of Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( 1

2 Josemaría's spiritual and human qualities, made him an inspector of the Seminary of St. Francis of Paula; this meant that for three years he had the function of Superior. Together with his theological formation, Josemaría strengthened his spiritual formation with constant reading of spiritual classics and above all, with his personal prayer: on many nights he spent long hours before the Blessed Sacrament of the Seminary church, in intimate and deeply felt dialogue with the Lord; and in almost daily visits to Our Lady of the "Pilar", the invocation of the Virgin deeply characteristic of Zaragozan piety. In 1923, once his theological studies were well under way, and having obtained permission from his superiors, Josemaría began studying civil law at the University of Zaragoza. To do so, he first took advantage of the summer vacation periods and later, of the time he had after fulfilling his pastoral duties. Studying civil law responded to a wish manifested by his father years earlier, when Josemaría told him about his decision to become a priest. Studying ecclesiastical and civil law at the same time, his presence in the lecture rooms of the School of Law and his relationships with professors and students at this educational center constituted, no doubt, an experience that enriched his personality and prepared him for the orientation he later would have to give to his life and his activities. He was ordained a deacon on December 20, 1924 and received the sacrament of Holy Orders on March 28, Shortly before Josemaría finished his training for the priesthood, his father died in November, The family, made up of his mother, his sister Carmen, and a brother, Santiago, born in 1919, moved from Logroño to Zaragoza where they were, to a large extent, under Josemaría's care. Fr. Josemaría started his sacerdotal ministry in the parish of Perdiguera (of the diocese of Zaragoza), and later continued in Zaragoza. MADRID: THE FOUNDING OF OPUS DEI Having obtained his degree in law, Fr. Josemaría wished to continue these studies to obtain his doctorate, which was at that time only possible at the University of Madrid, which had the status of a Central University. This, together with other factors, led him to move with his family to the capital. In the spring of 1927 he settled definitively in Madrid, where he carried out unflagging priestly work, attending to the poor and helpless in the outskirts of Madrid, and especially the incurable and dying patients in the hospitals. Fr. Josemaría became chaplain of the chapel of the Foundation for the Sick, a charitable institution run by the Congregation of Apostolic Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Preparing thousands of children for their first Confession and first Holy Communion and his visits to the poor quarters of a Madrid in full expansion, with its consequent social problems, occupied many hours in Fr. Josemaría's intense dedication to his ministry. The need for an income with which to maintain his family led him to become a teacher in an Academy, specialized in tutoring university students in juridical studies. All this, together with constant prayer and very exacting mortification and penance, made these years a real "prehistory" of Opus Dei, that is, a period of spiritual profundity that prepared St. Josemaría to receive what God has prepared for him. On October 2, 1928, during a spiritual retreat, the Lord clearly revealed to St. Josemaría what until that moment He had only hinted at. At this moment Opus Dei was born, as a reality branded by fire on the soul of a young priest who from then onwards dedicated all his energy to this end. At first, Josemaría's natural humility and a certain caution in the face of the proliferation of religious foundations, led him to investigate as to whether an institution such as the one God revealed to him already existed. However, from that October 2, he also began seek people who would understand this manifestation of God. He soon perceived that nothing existed similar to what God was requesting of Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( 2

3 him. Guided always by the Lord, on February 14, 1930, St. Josemaría also understood that he had to extend the apostolic work God had indicated to include women. A new way was thus opened in the Church, directed at promoting, among people of all social classes, the struggle for sanctity through ordinary secular life and the need to be an apostle in the midst of the world. It was also in 1930 when a casual question put to him by a friend ("How is that Work of God getting on?") led him to think that this could be the name of this apostolic enterprise. The expression "Work of God" manifests, on the one hand, St. Josemaría's profound conviction that he was fulfilling a divine wish, and at the same time expresses clearly what Opus Dei means in practice: ordinary life, professional work, converted, through prayer and personal generosity, into the work of God, into Opus Dei, work done in God's presence, for the service of all humankind. The nucleus of the message transmitted by the Founder of Opus Dei was the announcement of a universal call to sanctification in the performance of ordinary professional work. Thirty years before the Second Vatican Council, St. Josemaría, speaking on the plenitude of Christian life, pronounced this judgment with supernatural daring: "You have the obligation to sanctify yourself. You too. Who thinks that this is the exclusive task of priests and religious orders? To all, without exception, the Lord said 'Be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect'" (The Way, 291). The universal call to sanctification in one's own work does not mean, as St. Josemaría often repeated, a decrease in the demands and of the horizons evoked, in the Christian conscience, by the word "sanctity". On the contrary, it implies reminding each and every one of the sons and daughters of the Church that, no matter where they are, no matter what their qualities are, the words of the Gospels are addressed to them. They have all received the baptismal invitation to follow Christ. The plenitude of Christian life has to be reached by the ordinary faithful in the place and condition they have in human society, making their ordinary work an occasion of sanctity, at the service of God and of their fellow human beings, in imitation of the hidden life of Christ. This was the message which from October 2, 1928, the Founder of Opus Dei spread and which drew to him a group of people, small at the beginning, but which was destined to grow. Meanwhile, the social context of St. Josemaría's life underwent changes and tensions. The economic situation of his family continued to be difficult. His pastoral ministry also changed. In 1931, St. Josemaría left the Foundation for the Sick and assumed the task, first as Chaplain and later, in 1934, as Rector of the Royal Foundation of St. Elizabeth. There, in the sacristy of St Elizabeth's, after especially intense personal prayer, St. Josemaría put into writing what was one of his first books: some commentaries on the mysteries of the Rosary, which were published in 1934, under the title of Holy Rosary. St. Josemaría also began writing in his notebooks some conclusions or snippets of his personal prayers, with accounts of experiences that had arisen in his apostolic work. Gathering together some of these intimate notes, in 1932, he composed a collection of thoughts or points for meditation which he entitled Spiritual Considerations; these, first published with the help of a duplicator and later in printed form (1934), were helpful in his apostolic work and that of those who followed him. Revised and completed with other points, these meditations were published as one of St. Josemaría's best known works: The Way (Camino). First published in 1939, it has been translated into numerous languages and has sold millions of copies. THE CIVIL WAR AND THE PERIOD IN BURGOS Already in 1935, although there were hardly more than a dozen members of Opus Dei, St. Josemaría had thought about its expansion from Madrid to other Spanish cities. The start of the Spanish Civil War made it impossible to carry out these plans immediately. During the time the conflict lasted, St. Josemaría carried on with his ministry, first in Madrid, at grave risk to his life, and later, in Burgos, after making a dangerous crossing of the Catalan Pyrenees. In Burgos, a town of Castile, he dedicated himself tirelessly to renewing contact with those who formed part of Opus Dei, and to his other priestly activities. Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( 3

4 Taking advantage of the time he now had, St. Josemaría decided to restart the project of his doctoral dissertation in law, centering it not on the subject he had decided on before (the documents he had left in Madrid were practically lost) but on an interesting ecclesiastical reality that existed in Burgos: the quasi-episcopal jurisdiction of the abbess of the Monastery of Las Huelgas. In 1939 he presented and defended his doctoral dissertation. Five years later, completing and amplifying his research, he published his third book, an extensive monograph on The Abbess of Las Huelgas. THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPUS DEI IN SPAIN The difficult war situation had slowed down apostolic development, but had contributed to the consolidation of the vocations of the first members of Opus Dei. The 1940s witnessed a strong expansion of Opus Dei which, in a short time, was established in several of the most important Spanish cities. St. Josemaría dedicated most of his energy and time to spurring on this expansion and to attending to the new vocations, making this work compatible with the preaching of numerous spiritual retreats for priests. During this time of ecclesiastical reconstruction, of healing the wounds caused by the war, various bishops, knowing St. Josemaría's priestly depth, approached him to request his collaboration. From then onwards, however, there was no lack of strong adversity that St. Josemaría bore with serenity and a refined supernatural spirit. He never lacked, in those difficult circumstances, the encouragement and blessing of the Bishop of Madrid-Alcalá, Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, who had followed the development of Opus Dei from its beginnings. To publicly show his support, Bishop Eijo y Garay granted Opus Dei its first written approval in On February 14, 1943, St. Josemaría found the solution to one of the questions that had been worrying him most: a way to define the presence of priests in Opus Dei. On this day, during the Mass, he received the inspiration to create the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, a priestly association in which members of Opus Dei who became priests could be incardinated. Some time later, in the same year, after the agreement of the Holy See had been obtained, the Bishop of Madrid proceeded to its canonical establishment. In 1944 the first three members of Opus Dei who had studied for the priesthood were ordained. INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AND PONTIFICAL APPROVAL The end of the Second World War made it possible to think about the universal expansion of Opus Dei, which had already begun, albeit in a limited way (Portugal and Italy), during the war. This expansion meant being subject to pontifical rather than diocesan authority. And so in 1946 St. Josemaría moved to Rome, settling there until his death. In 1947 and 1950 Pope Pius XII granted Opus Dei the appropriate canonical approvals, which permitted not only the expansion of Opus Dei, but also allowed married people to become members. Further, priests incardinated in dioceses could also join the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, in a way compatible with their subordination to their bishops. In 1982, after the Founder's death, Opus Dei, following a juridical path which he had long prepared and cherished, was established by the Pope as a Personal Prelature, thus achieving full juridical configuration in keeping with the reality of its spirit and activity. Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( 4

5 All through his long Roman years ( ), St. Josemaría stimulated and guided the expansion of Opus Dei throughout the world, using all his energy to give the faithful of Opus Dei, both men and women, a solid doctrinal, ascetic and apostolic formation, that would permit them to sanctify their different professions and to spread the Christian message from the most varied spheres of life. The expansion was in fact very rapid. In 1946 members of Opus Dei began to work in Great Britain, Ireland and France, reaching most of the countries of western Europe in successive years. In 1948 it began its work in Mexico and the United States and, soon afterwards, in a large number of other nations of the American continent. At the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, Opus Dei established a stable presence in Asia and Africa: Japan, the Philippines and Kenya. At the death of its Founder, Opus Dei had more than 60,000 members of 80 nationalities and from the most varied professions and walks of life. As fruit of its activity, numerous people had drawn closer to the Catholic faith or had progressed in their Christian life, and different educational, charitable and apostolic initiatives had been started, such as the University of Navarra (Spain), of which St. Josemaría was the first Grand Chancellor. THE FORMATION OF THE FAITHFUL OF OPUS DEI The establishment in 1948 and 1953 of two centers of formation in Rome, one for men and another for women (the Roman College of the Holy Cross, and the Roman College of Holy Mary) made it possible for members of the Prelature from diverse countries to study in Rome. Both Roman Colleges facilitated the direct and immediate contact of wide sectors of the first generations of Opus Dei members with their Founder; many other people were also able to participate in these meetings. Trips to the Eternal City became increasingly easier, especially from the 1960s. Appointed Monsignor, Prelate of Honor of His Holiness the Pope in 1947, St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer was a Consultant of the Pontifical Commission for the authentic interpretation of the Code of Canon Law and of the Sacred Congregation for Seminaries and Universities, as well as an "ad honorem" Academician of the Roman Pontifical Academy of Theology. THE YEARS OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL In 1959, the recently-elected Pope John XXIII convened an ecumenical council: the Second Vatican Council, which began in 1962 and concluded in St. Josemaría followed with enthusiasm at the inspiring moments and with concern at the moments of tension (which were not lacking), the Council's sessions, and took great interest when the different documents approved were later put into practice, attending to processes of renovation and change. The expansion of Opus Dei drew attention to its Founder not only from Christian spheres, but also from society as a whole, and from the media. From 1966 onwards, journalists from France, the United States, Spain, and Italy met and interviewed St. Josemaría. In all cases these were ample interviews, in which the Founder of Opus Dei answered questions thoroughly. In 1968, all these interviews and a homily delivered in 1967 were published as Conversations with Msgr. Escrivá de Balaguer. During these years, St. Josemaría considered it opportune to select, revise, and publish some of the meditations and homilies he had delivered: this was the origin of two new books: Christ is Passing By, which appeared in 1973, and Friends of God, published posthumously in Other works also published after St. Josemaría's death include: The Way of the Cross (1981), Furrow (1986) and The Forge (1987). Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( 5

6 CATECHETICAL TRIPS TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES Profoundly united with Pope John XXIII and Paul VI, and with his aspiration that the recently celebrated Council should contribute to proclaiming the vitality and richness of the word of God, St. Josemaría, who throughout his life had conceived of his activity as a great catechism, engaged in intense catechetical activity, not only receiving numerous visits in Rome, but also traveling widely around Europe and America (1970, 1972, 1974, 1975). These journeys enabled him to meet with thousands of people, to whom he tried to transmit the love for God, Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Church that filled his own heart. All this meant a considerable effort on his part St. Josemaría bore the physical marks of a long life, full of hard work but he did not hesitate in offering all his energy, and his own life if necessary, for the Church and for souls. DEATH. CANONIZATION On June 26, 1975 the Founder of Opus Dei gave up his soul to God in a saintly way, dying after suddenly collapsing on entering the room where he usually worked, after making a visit to the Roman College of Holy Mary. He passed away with the same simplicity that had characterized his life. The fame of the heroic virtues of the Founder of Opus Dei soon extended around the world, and countless people turned to his intercession, asking for both material and spiritual favors. On May 12, 1981, his Cause of Beatification and Canonization was opened in Rome. After a rigorous study of his life and his writings, and with the proof of a miracle brought about through his intercession, John Paul II beatified him on May 17, 1992 in Rome, before a huge crowd of people filling St. Peter's Square. After the approval of a new miracle, he was solemnly canonized by the Pope John Paul II on October 6, 2002 before an immense crowd that surpassed the previous one, reaching nearly half a million people. This figure bears witness to the widespread devotion to St. Josemaría Escrivá. But what is more important is the echo reached by the preaching of the universal call to sanctity in all spheres and in all latitudes, to which the Founder of Opus Dei dedicated his whole life. Source: St. Josemaria Escriva Historical Institute ( 6