Josemaría Escrivá

Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer
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Saint of Ordinary Life
Born	9 January 1902 Barbastro, Spain
Died	26 June 1975 Rome, Italy, age 73
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	17 May 1992, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	6 October 2002, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Major shrine	Our Lady of Peace, Prelatic Church of Opus Dei, in Rome
Feast	26 June
Attributes	Celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar

Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (Thursday, January 9, 1902 – Thursday, June 26, 1975) (also known as Jose María or Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albas, born José María Mariano Escriba Albas) was a Spanish Catholic priest and founder of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, popularly, Opus Dei. He was canonized in a controversial process by Pope John Paul II, who declared Saint Josemaría as "counted among the great witnesses of Christianity." John Paul II's decree Christifideles omnes also states: "By inviting Christians to seek union with God through their daily work - which confers dignity on human beings and is their lot as long as they exist on earth - his message is destined to endure as an inexhaustible source of spiritual light regardless of changing epochs and situations."

His principal work was the foundation, government and expansion of Opus Dei. He and the organization have been accused of many things, including political involvement and strict adherence to Catholic doctrine. A source of criticism has been Escrivá's petitioning for, and being granted the title of Marquis of Peralta (1968-1972), a title he later renounced in favour of his brother. CNN Vatican analyst John Allen Jr., however, says that these are mere myths that grew from black legends propagated against Opus Dei and Escrivá. Opus Dei and Escrivá continue to be polarizing subjects among more secular members of the Catholic Church.

Biography

Early life

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St. Josemaría in his youth. He was described by relatives as "a normal boy with an outgoing personality"

One of the six children of José Escriba and María Dolores Albás Blanc, Josemaría Escrivá was born in the small town of Barbastro, in upper Aragon, Spain. Escrivá first felt that "he had been chosen for something," it is reported, when he saw footprints left in the snow by a monk walking barefoot.

He then decided that the best way to follow God's call was by becoming a priest of the Church. After obtaining the blessing and help of his father, he studied in both Logroño and Zaragoza and was ordained a deacon in Zaragoza on Saturday, December 20, 1924. He was ordained a priest, also in Zaragoza, on Saturday, March 28, 1925. After a brief clerical appointment to a parish in a rural area he went to Madrid, the Spanish capital, in 1927 to study law at university.

Mission as the founder of Opus Dei

A prayerful retreat helped him to further discern what he considered to be God's will for him, and on October 2 1928 he founded Opus Dei (Latin for "Work of God") as a new lay movement through which Catholics might learn to sanctify themselves without abandoning secular life. According to John Paul II's Christifideles omnes, a papal decree which contains a condensed biography of Escrivá, "[t]o this mission he gave himself totally. From the beginning his was a very wide-ranging apostolate in social environments of all kinds. He worked especially among the poor and the sick languishing in the slums and hospitals of Madrid."

During the Spanish Civil War, Escrivá went into hiding to escape persecution by anti-clerical elements, although he continued ministering to Catholics, potentially risking his life. When the war ended in 1939, he was able to resume his studies in Madrid and complete a doctorate in law.

The Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, attached to Opus Dei, was founded on Sunday, 14 February 1943, and Escrivá himself moved to Rome in 1946.

Christifideles omnes, the papal decree, states that "in 1947 and on Monday, 16 June 1950, he obtained approval of Opus Dei as an institution of pontifical right. With tireless charity and operative hope he guided the development of Opus Dei throughout the world, activating a vast mobilization of lay people.... He gave life to numerous initiatives in the work of evangelization and human welfare; he fostered vocations to the priesthood and the religious life everywhere....Above all, he devoted himself tirelessly to the task of forming the members of Opus Dei."

Later years

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Saint Josemaría Escrivá in a get-together with men. Pope John Paul II called Opus Dei's founder "the Saint of Ordinary Life"

After earning a doctorate in theology from the Lateran University, he was appointed Consultor to two Vatican Congregations and made an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. Pope Pius XII acknowledged Escrivá's work by making him an Domestic Prelate, which allowed Escrivá to use the title of Monsignor, and by granting Opus Dei his official approval on June 16, 1950. Later on, Escrivá also was consulted by many Cardinals during the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Many biographers commented on his contribution regarding the universal call to holiness, the role of the laity, the importance of the Holy Mass as the centre and root of the Christian life. Escrivá worked throughout his life to foster Opus Dei's work, so that when he died in 1975 Opus Dei covered five continents and had more than 60,000 members from eighty nationalities.

Personality and attitudes

Attitudes in general

One of the persons who knew Escrivá most was the Bishop of Madrid where Opus Dei was founded, Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, for Escrivá would visit and report to him quite frequently and the two established very strong bonds of friendship. In a 1943 report to Rome, he stated: "The distinctive notes of his character are his energy and his capacity for organization and government; with an ability to pass unnoticed. He has shown himself most obedient to the Church hierarchy--one very special hallmark of his priestly work is the way he fosters, in speech and in writing, in public and in private, love for Holy Mother Church and for the Roman Pontiff."

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According to psychiatrist Victor Frankl, Escrivá had an amazing capacity for getting into immediate contact with those he was speaking to: "This man is a spiritual atomic bomb."

During the time when some Jesuits were spreading the notion that Opus Dei is a "new heresy" and had the "secretive character" of Freemasonry, Eijo y Garay wrote to the Jesuit Provincial of Toledo, Carlos Gomez Martinho, S.J. in 1941: "Fr. Escrivá is an exemplary priest, chosen by God for apostolic enterprises; humble, prudent, self-sacrificing in work, docile to his bishop, of outstanding intelligence and with a very solid spiritual and doctrinal formation." Eijo y Garay also told a leader of the Falange who went to consult the bishop on the "secret and Masonic" society founded by Escrivá: "To think that Fr. Josemaría Escrivá is capable of creating anything secret is absurd. He is as frank and open as a child!"

Dr. Viktor Frankl, an accomplished Austrian Author, Psychiatrist, Neurologist, the founder of Logotherapy and Nazi death-camp survivor, met Escrivá in Rome in 1970. Later he wrote of "the refreshing serenity which emanated from him and warmed the whole conversation", and "the unbelievable rhythm" with which his thought flowed, and finally "his amazing capacity" for getting into "immediate contact" with those he was speaking to. Frankl went on: "Escrivá evidently lived totally in the present moment, he opened out to it completely, and gave himself entirely to it." At the end of the meeting, Frankl whispered to the translator, "This man is a spiritual atomic bomb."

"The first impression one gets from watching Escrivá ‘live,’" John L. Allen, Jr. writes after watching some films on the founder of Opus Dei in 2005, "is his effervescence, his keen sense of humor. He cracks jokes, makes faces, roams the stage, and generally leaves his audience in stitches in off-the-cuff responses to questions from people in the crowd."

Towards God

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Benedict XVI blessing a statue of the founder of Opus Dei at an outside wall of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Prayer

On the centennial of Escrivá's birthday, Cardinal Ratzinger (who became Pope Benedict XVI) commented: "I have always been impressed by Josemaría Escrivá's explanation of the name "Opus Dei": an explanation which we might call biographical and which gives us an idea of the founder's spiritual profile. Escrivá knew he had to found something, but he was also conscious that what he was founding was not his own work, that he himself did not invent anything and that the Lord was merely making use of him. So it was not his work, but Opus Dei (God's Work).

All this helps us understand why Josemaría Escrivá did not claim to be the 'founder' of anything, but only someone who wanted to do God's will and second his action, his work, precisely, God's... This is how the name and the whole reality that we call Opus Dei is profoundly linked with the interior life of the founder who, while remaining very discreet on this point, gives us to understand that he was in a permanent dialogue, a real contact with the One who created us and works for us and with us.

The Book of Exodus says of Moses (33:11): 'thus the Lord used to speak to Moses as to a friend'...The words "speaking as to a friend" can very aptly be applied to Josemaría Escrivá, who opens the doors of the world to let God come in, work and transform all things...If therefore St Josemaría speaks of the common vocation to holiness, it seems to me that he is basically drawing on his own personal experience, not of having done incredible things himself, but of having let God work. Therefore a renewal, a force for good was born in the world even if human weaknesses will always remain."

In his canonization homily, Pope John Paul II described Escrivá as "a master in the practice of prayer, which he considered to be an extraordinary 'weapon' to redeem the world...It is not a paradox but a perennial truth; the fruitfulness of the apostolate lies above all in prayer and in intense and constant sacramental life." According to Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, "St. Josemaría strove with all his strength to make the Eucharist the center of his life...For him, Jesus was not an example to imitate from afar, an abstract moral ideal, but his Jesus, a person we should live alongside continuously."

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Fr. Josemaría Escrivá celebrating Holy Mass in 1972.

In the Decretal Letter of John Paul II or his Decree of Canonization, he refers to the short prayers of Escrivá which summarize his life: "Domine, ut videam! [Lord, that I might see!], Domina, ut sit! [Lady, that it might be!], Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam! [All together with Peter to Jesus through Mary], Regnare Christum volumus! [We want Christ to reign!], Deo omnis gloria! [All the glory to God!]."

"In these aspirations one can trace the entire life story of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá. He was barely sixteen when he began to recite the first two aspirations, as soon as he had the first inklings of God's call. They expressed the burning desire of his heart: to see what God was asking of him, so that he might do it without delay, lovingly fulfilling the Lord's will. (cf Lk 18:41) The third aspiration appears frequently in his writings as a young priest and shows how his zeal to win souls for God went hand in hand with both a firm determination to be faithful to the Church and an ardent devotion to Mary, the Virgin Mother of God. Regnare Christum volumus! [We want Christ to reign!](cf 1 Cor 15:25): these words aptly express his constant pastoral concern to spread among all men and women the call to share, through Christ, in the dignity of God's children. God's sons and daughters should live for the purpose, to serve Him alone: Deo omnis gloria! [All the glory to God!]" (cf Roman Canon, Major Doxology and minor elevation)

John Paul II, during the thanksgiving Mass for the canonization of St. Josemaría said the following: "In the Founder of Opus Dei, there is an extraordinary love for the will of God. There exists a sure criterion of holiness: fidelity in accomplishing the divine will down to the last consequences. For each one of us the Lord has a plan, to each he entrusts a mission on earth. The saint could not even conceive of himself outside of God's plan. He lived only to achieve it. St Josemaría was chosen by the Lord to announce the universal call to holiness and to point out that daily life and ordinary activities are a path to holiness. One could say that he was the saint of ordinary life."

Towards the liturgy

Monsignor Escrivá continued using the Tridentine (Latin) Roman Missal in the edition of 1962 until his death. He did not celebrate Holy Mass according to the revised (vernacular) liturgy of Paul VI, though he did not forbid Opus Dei members to use the revised new rites, as he wanted to uphold loyalty towards the papacy at all costs. Some authors claim Escrivá said he "could not morally" celebrate according to the revised rites, one biographer claims he threw the revised missal away after having tried to use the new liturgy once. Many current, traditionalist Catholic supporters of the ancient Roman Rite however remain critical of Escrivá and Opus Dei nevertheless.

Mortification

Many of his biographers comment on his personal application of his teaching that "joy has its roots in the form of a cross" and that "suffering is the touchstone of love." Escrivá was a practitioner of corporal mortification, a traditional means of penance. He once wrote: "Blessed be suffering. Loved be suffering. Sanctified be suffering...Glorified be suffering!" (The Way, #208). John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Salvific Meaning of Suffering says: "Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption" . John Paul II stated in Christifideles omnes: "During the Spanish Civil War he personally experienced the fury of anti-religious persecution and gave daily proof of heroism in a constant priestly activity seasoned with abundant prayer and penance. It did not take long before many came to consider him a saint. When the war was over many bishops invited him to preach retreats to their clergy, thereby greatly contributing to the renewal of Christian life in Spain. Many religious orders and congregations also requested his pastoral services. At the same time, God allowed him to suffer public attacks. He responded invariably with pardon, to the point of considering his detractors as benefactors. But this Cross was such a source of blessings from heaven that the Servant of God's apostolate spread with astonishing speed."

Paul VI summarized his view of what he called the "extraordinariness" of Escrivá's sanctity in this way: "He is one of those men who has received the most charisms (supernatural gifts) and have corresponded most generously to them."

Towards the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mother of Fair Love, a gift of St. Josemaría to the University of Navarra: John Paul II stated: "Love for our Lady is a constant characteristic of the life of Josemaría Escrivá."

John Paul II also stated on Sunday, 6 October 2002, after the Angelus greetings: "Love for our Lady is a constant characteristic of the life of Josemaría Escrivá and is an eminent part of the legacy that he left to his spiritual sons and daughters." The Pope also said that "St. Josemaría wrote a beautiful small book called The Holy Rosary which presents spiritual childhood, a real disposition of spirit of those who wish to attain total abandonment to the divine will."

Since he was 10-11 years old, he already had the habit of carrying the Rosary in his pocket. As a priest, he would ordinarily end his homilies and his personal prayer with a conversation with the Blessed Virgin. He instructed that all rooms in the centres of Opus Dei should have an image of the Virgin. He encouraged his spiritual children to greet these images when they entered a room. He pushed for a Marian apostolate, preaching that "To Jesus we go and to Him we return through Mary." While looking at a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe giving a rose to Juan Diego, he commented: "I would like to die that way." On June 26 1975, after entering his work room, which had a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, he slumped on the floor and died. (François Gondrand, At God's Pace and Vasquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei)

Towards people

"Escrivá de Balaguer was a very human saint," preached John Paul II. "All those who met him, whatever their culture or social status, felt he was a father, totally devoted to serving others, for he was convinced that every soul is a marvellous treasure; indeed, every person is worth all of Christ's Blood. This attitude of service is obvious in his dedication to his priestly ministry and in the magnanimity with which he launched so many works of evangelization and human advancement for the poorest persons."

He has been criticized for his attitudes towards women. On the other hand, his supporters say that through him Opus Dei has been able to raise the quality of life of many women. His biographers also refer to his utmost respect for women and his interest in improving their lot. The founding director of the Institute for Women's Studies, Prof. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, who has a Ph.D. from Harvard University, says: "Opus Dei has an enviable record of educating the poor and supporting women, whether single or married, in any occupation they choose." Bishops have also been happy that Opus Dei has raised the dignity of women due to its teachings that marriage and the family are a vocation.

Towards his family

Opus Dei’s founder changed his name many times over the course of his life. Four days after birth, he was baptized in the Cathedral at Barbastro, Spain with the baptismal name recorded among Church records as José María Julian Mariano. “According to the entry in the baptismal register of the Church where he was christened, his surname was spelled Escriba.” He was given the same first name as his father, José Escriba; his mother was named María de los Dolores Albás Blanc.

According to critics like Luis Carandell, Robert Hutchison, and Michael Walsh (an ex-Jesuit and ex-priest), before the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), he began joining and adding the more aristocratic “y Albás” to his surname. In Castilian Spanish, use of the conjunction “y” (“and”) joining one's father’s and mother’s surnames is associated with aristocratic families.

One of the earliest members of Opus Dei, and a close friend for years, the architect Miguel Fisac, who later left Opus Dei, says that Escrivá found it embarrassing to have his father's family name since his father's firm went bankrupt. According to Fisac, he also had a "great affection he felt for the aristocracy" and was embarrassed that he was not associated with aristocratic family names. For this he is portrayed as ambitious by one historian: a "mixture of mysticism and ambition" (Blaye 1976:262).

But as early as his school days, José Escriba had “adopted the rather more distinguished version spelled with a “v” rather than a “b.” His name is spelled Escrivá in the memento of his first Mass. In 1943, when he was 41, Church records were altered on June 20 to memorialize the change: the registry book of the Barbastro Cathedral and the baptismal certificate of José María were annotated to reflect “that the surname Escribá was changed to Escrivá de Balaguer.” On June 16, 1940, the Spanish "Boletín Oficial del Estado" records that Father Escrivá requested of the government that he be permitted to change his “first surname so it will be written Escrivá de Balaguer.” He justified the petition by claiming that “the name Escrivá is common in the east coast and Catalonia, leading to harmful and annoying confusion.”

According to Vasquez de Prada, a writer, Opus Dei member, and official biographer who produced a three-volume biography of Escrivá, the move has nothing to do with ambition but with fairness and loyalty to his family's real name, a loyalty which his father, José Escriba, insisted on. The main problem is that in Spanish the letters b and v are pronounced in the same way, thus; many bureaucrats and clerics have made a mistake in transcribing the Escriva family name in some official documents throughout the generations. The addition of "de Balaguer" was also a necessity felt by many Spanish families to distinguish their family names from others with the same name but who proceed from other regions, especially if the other families have histories which are peculiar and entirely different from one's own.

His brother Santiago states that his older brother Escrivá took good care of his family. When their father died, he says, Escrivá told their mother that "she should stay calm, because he will always take care of us. And he fulfilled this promise." Escrivá would find time in his busy schedule to chat and take a walk with his younger brother, acting like a father towards him. When the family transferred to Madrid, Escrivá followed the instructions of their father that he take up his doctorate in Law. "Thanks to his docility to this advice," says Santiago, "he was able to support the family by giving classes in Law, and with this he acquired a juridical mentality...which would later be so necessary to do Opus Dei."

Monsignor Escrivá also modified his first name. From the common José María, he changed it to the original Josemaría. Biographers state, that around 1935 [age 33], “he joined his first two names because his single love for the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph were equally inseparable.”

Towards his country

Many of his contemporaries recount the tendency of Escrivá to preach about patriotism (love for country) as against nationalism (disordered love for country which leads to hating other people).

However, there are quite a number of criticisms leveled upon him regarding his relationship with General Franco. Accusations of right-wing tendencies, like Escrivá's criticisms of the crimes committed by Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, are common. Critics point to an alleged Fascist link, saying that he was a supporter of Francisco Franco. Vittorio Messori says that this is part of the black legend against Escrivá and Opus Dei. Allen (2005) states that based on his research Escrivá could not be said to be pro-Franco (for which he was criticized for not joining other Catholics in praising Franco) nor anti-Franco (for which he was criticized for not being pro-democracy). According to Allen, there is no statement from Escrivá for or against Franco.

Escrivá's followers and some historians have emphasized his personal effort to avoid partiality in politics. Professor Peter Berglar, a German historian, asserts that Franco's falangists suspected Escrivá of "internationalism, anti-Spainism and Freemasonry" and that during "the first decade of Franco's regime, Opus Dei and Escrivá were attacked with perseverance bordering on fanaticism, not by enemies, but by supporters of the new Spanish State. Escrivá was even reported to the Tribunal for the Fight against Freemasonry." (Berglar, Opus Dei: Life and Works of Josemaria Escrivá 1994, p.180-181)

There is a letter from Escrivá to Francisco Franco which his critics say show this supposed link. His detractors say that he implicitly supported Francoism's endorsement of National-Catholicism and the rise of Catholicism as the official religion of Spain. In the letter he also expresses some kind of Spanish patriotism. He wrote, "Although a stranger to any political activity, I cannot help but rejoice as a priest and Spaniard that Spain, through its Head of State, has officially accepted the law of God in accordance with the Catholic faith". However, his Catholic supporters assert that this letter expresses support for human rights, human dignity and freedom. Escrivá, together with the Popes, preached that all citizens should practice patriotism and love for their country, at the same time loving other nations.

Towards material and worldly things

In the teaching of Escrivá, all of creation has been sanctified by the God-made-flesh: movies, boardrooms, games and gardens are meetings places with the Father God who is near. He even preached a Christian materialism, in which the Christian is supposed to passionately love the world while fighting against his own lust, greed and vanity.

Monsignor Escrivá accepted several awards like these:

• The Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise (1951)

• The Gold Cross of St. Raymond of Penafort (1954)

• The Grand Cross of Isabel the Catholic (1956)

• The Grand Cross of Charles III (1960)

• Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Zaragoza (Spain, 1960)

• Great Chancellor by the University of Navarra, Spain, founded by Escrivá de Balaguer (1960)

• Great Chancellor by the University of Piura (Opus Dei) (1968)

• The Gold Medal by the City council of Barbastro (1975)

In 1968, Escrivá petitioned for and was granted by the Government of Spanish dictator Franco the title of Marquis of Peralta. He was granted the title of Marques for four years, from 1968 to 1972, when Escrivá left the title in favour of his brother.

Maxim 677 in "The Way", an important book written by Escrivá, has this to say:

"Honours, distinctions, titles: things of air, puffs of pride, lies, nothingness."

On the other hand, several pro-Opus Dei biographers say that he sought neither these awards nor the title, but that they were nevertheless granted to him. They say that he accepted them out of charity to those who were granting these and that he did not give the slightest importance to these awards. These biographers also state that he prohibited his followers from asking for the title of Marques de Peralta, and was only forced to accept it due to the advice of some Cardinals who told him that he had the obligation to accept it for the sake of his brother, Santiago, and as a way of being an example of fulfilling civil duties and exercising rights. Although official biographers do not explain the reason why Escrivá retained the title for 4 years, his brother Santiago said: "The decision was heroic because he knew that he will be vilified as a result... Josemaría did what is best for me. After the right amount of time has passed, without making use of the title (in fact he never had the intention of using it), he passed the title on to me."

Many biographers also refer to his spirit of detachment and poverty. Escrivá taught that material things are good, but that people should not get attached to them, but should only serve God. He said "he has most who needs least." Many biographers report that it took only 10 minutes to gather his possessions after his death.

Canonization and veneration

Main article: Canonization of Josemaría Escrivá

His cause for Canonization was introduced in Rome on February 19 1981 on the strength of the apparently miraculous cure in 1976 of a rare disease, lipomatosis, suffered by Sister Concepción Boullón Rubio, whose family had prayed to Escrivá to help her. On April 9, 1990, Pope John Paul II declared that Escrivá possessed Christian virtues to a "heroic degree", and on July 6, 1991 the Board of Physicians for the Congregation of the Causes of Saints unanimously accepted the cure of Sister Rubio. A second reported miracle apparently brought about by Escrivá's intervention was ruled valid by the Congregation and approved by Pope John Paul II in December 2001.

John Paul II, who frequently expressed public support for Opus Dei and its work, canonized Escrivá on 6 October 2002. During the canonization, there were 42 cardinals and 470 bishops from around the world, general superiors of many orders and religious congregations, and representatives of various Catholic groups. One-third of the world's bishops (an unprecedented number) petitioned for the canonization of Escrivá. (Messori 1997)

During the days of the canonization event, Church officials commented on the universal reach and validity of the message of the founder, echoing John Paul II's decree Christifideles Omnes on Escrivá's virtues, which said that "by inviting Christians to be united to God through their daily work, which is something men will have to do and find their dignity in as long as the world lasts, the timeliness of this message is destined to endure as an inexhaustible source of spiritual light, regardless of changing epochs and situations."

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St. Peter's Square on the day of St. Josemaría's canonization

However, Opus Dei critics criticize what they see Escrivá's lightning canonization. They argue that the whole process was plagued by irregularities. On the other hand, supporters refer to Fr. Rafael Perez, an Augustinian, "one of the best experts" on canonization and who was the judge of Escrivá's Madrid Tribunal. He says that the process was fast because first, Escrivá's figure is "of the universal importance;" second, the Postulators "knew what they were doing;" third, in 1983 the procedures were simplified in order to present "models who lived in a world like ours." Fr. Flavio Cappucci, the Postulator also reported that the 6000 postulatory letters to the Vatican showed "earnestness." (Documentation Service Vol V, 3, March 1992) Escrivá's canonization was one of the first to be processed after the 1983 Code of Canon Law streamlined the procedures for canonization, and so it moved more quickly than was typical before. Mother Teresa is on pace to be canonized even more quickly, having been beatified just 6 years after her death (Escrivá was beatified in 17 years).

Controversy

Alleged statements

Monsignor Vladimir Felzmann, a former Opus Dei priest and confidant of Escrivá's, claims to have overheard the Prelature's founder tell a close friend several controversial statements. Felzmann sent several letters to Father Flavio Capucci, overseeing the preceedings of the nine judges of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The letters were reviewed and later ignored due to Felzmann's previous statements of admiration for Escrivá. The alleged statements by Escrivá include: "Vlad, Hitler couldn't have been such a bad person. He couldn't have killed six million. It couldn't have been more than four million." and "Hitler against the Jews, Hitler against the Slavs, this means Hitler against Communism." On the other hand, Alvaro del Portillo, the former Prelate of Opus Dei, said that any claims that Escrivá supported Hitler were "a patent falsehood," that were part of "a slanderous campaign". He and others have stated that Escriva regarded Hitler as a "pagan", a "racist" and a "tyrant". (see Opus Dei and politics)

Many other concerns rose during Escrivá's nomination for Sainthood, mainly denoting an ill-tempered behavior of Escrivá's, which has only been proven with partial evidentiary support. Father Capucci, the postulator over the nomination for Sainthood described the chief criticisms that surrounded Escrivá's attitude. They included: "...that he had a bad temper, that he was cruel, that he was vain, that he was close to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, that he was pro-Nazi and that he was so dismayed by the Second Vatican Council that he even traveled to Greece with the idea that he might convert to the Orthodox religion"

One of the most substantial and controversial accusations made by the opposition to Opus Dei is that Escrivá was active in bolstering the support of Fascist regimes, including that of Francisco Franco and Augusto Pinochet in Chile. The statements, which have been emphatically denied by the Roman Curia, also shed light on Escrivá's alleged malevolent attitude during his life. However, one supporter argued that connecting Opus Dei with the Franco government is a "gross slander," and supporters say that there were notable members of Opus Dei, such as Antonio Fontan and Rafael Calvo Serer, who were vocal critics of the Franco regime.

Discordance of CCS judges

From the nine judges of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints presiding over Escrivá's nomination for Sainthood, two of the nine judges requsted a suspension of the proceedings and did not approve the Cause. The two judges were Archbishop Luigi de Magistris, deputy head of the Vatican's Holy Penitentiary, and Msgr. Justo Fernandez Alonso, rector of the Spanish National Church in Rome. The originally unconfirmed story first broke in a Newsweek article by Kenneth L. Woodward, subsequently the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, confirmed the disapproval of Magistris and Alonso. Reportedly one of the two judges wrote that the elevation of Escrivá to Sainthood could cause the Church "...grave public scandal."

Primary critics of Escrivá

Many opposition groups and individuals have emerged both before and after the Canonization of Escrivá, such individuals and groups include: The Opus Dei Awareness Network (ODAN), a collaboration of former members which has taken a strong stance against Opus Dei and its allegedly violent practices. Former Opus Dei members who were refused a Hearing during the nomination for Sainthood of Escrivá include: Maria del Carmen Tapia, Father Vladimir Feltzman and John Roche.

The letter to Francisco Franco

On May 23, 1958, Escrivá sent a letter to General Francisco Franco of Spain which said:

Although a stranger to any political activity, I cannot help but rejoice as a priest and Spaniard that the Chief of State’s authoritative voice should proclaim that, “The Spanish nation considers it a badge of honor to accept the law of God according to the one and true doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church, inseparable faith of the national conscience which will inspire its legislation."

This has been seen by his critics as a support for Franco, but supporters deny this. John Allen said that a pro-Franco interpretation cannot be sustained. The most that can be said, he says, is that he was neither anti-Franco. On the other hand, in the latest book by Julian Cardinal Herranz titled En las afueras de Jerico, he says that Escriva was against dictatorships.

Teachings and legacy

While some theologians downplayed the importance of the message and teachings of Escrivá, Roman Catholic Cardinals of all theological persuasions spoke highly of his influence in the Catholic Church of the present and the future.

Ugo Cardinal Poletti, in the Decree Introducing the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of Msgr. Escrivá, wrote in 1981: "For having proclaimed the universal call to holiness since he founded Opus Dei in 1928, Msgr. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, has been unanimously recognized as the precursor of precisely what constitutes the fundamental nucleus of the Church's magisterium, a message of such fruitfulness in the life of the Church." Sebastiano Cardinal Baggio, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, wrote a month after the death of Escrivá: "it is evident even today that the life, works, and message of the founder of Opus Dei constitutes a turning point, or more exactly a new original chapter in the history of Christian spirituality." A Vatican peritus or consultor for the process of beatification said that "he is like a figure from the deepest spiritual sources." Franz Cardinal König, Archbishop of Vienna, who, according to Messori "is considered one of the leaders of the so-called "progressive current," wrote in 1975:

"The magnetic force of Opus Dei probably comes from its profoundly lay spirituality. At the very beginning, in 1928, Msgr. Escrivá anticipated the return to the Patrimony of the Church brought by the Second Vatican Council...He was able to anticipate the great themes of the Church's pastoral aciton in the dawn of the third millennnium of her history."

File:Ourladyofpeaceopusdeiprelaticchurchsjosemariaremains.jpg

Opus Dei's prelatic church, Our Lady of Peace, located in its central headquarters in Rome: Below the altar lie the mortal remains of St. Josemaría.

The "absolutely central" point in Escrivá's teaching, says American theologian William May, is that "Sanctification is possible only because of the grace of God, freely given to his children through his only-begotten Son, and it consists essentially in an intimate, loving union with Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior." ("Holiness and ordinary life in the teaching of St. Josemaría Escrivá" ). [2]

Escrivá's books, including Furrow, The Way, Christ is Passing By, and The Forge, continue to be read widely both by members of Opus Dei and by other Catholics attracted to his spirituality, which emphasises the laity's calling to daily sanctification (a message also to be found in the documents of Vatican II). Pope John Paul II made the following observation in his homily at the beatification of Escrivá:

"With supernatural intuition, Blessed Josemaría untiringly preached the universal call to holiness and apostolate. Christ calls everyone to become holy in the realities of everyday life. Hence work too is a means of personal holiness and apostolate, when it is done in union with Jesus Christ."

As regards Escrivá's place in history, Pierre Chanu, Protestant historian, professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, President of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in 1993, said that "The work of Escrivá de Balaguer will undoubtedly mark the 21st century. This is a prudent and reasonable wager. Do not pass close to this contemporary without paying him close attention." (Vue Culturelle, 5-6 February 1983)

Timeline

Thursday, 9 January 1902 - Born in Basbastro, Spain

Saturday, 20 December 1924 - Ordained deacon in Zaragoza

Saturday, 28 March 1925 - Ordained priest in Zaragoza

Tuesday, 2 October 1928 - Founds Opus Dei for lay men

Friday, 14 February 1930 - Founds branch for women in Opus Dei

Sunday, 14 February 1943 - Founds branch for priests in Opus Dei

Monday, 16 June 1950 - Opus Dei approved by Pope Pius XII

Thursday, 26 June 1975 - Dies in his study in Rome

Monday, 15 September 1975 - Alvaro del Portillo elected unanimously his successor

Friday, 30 January 1981 - Nihil Obstat by Congregation of Saints for introduction of canonization cause

Thursday, 5 February 1981 - Nihil Obstat ratified by Pope John Paul II

Thursday, 19 February 1981 - Canonization cause introduced

Sunday, 28 November 1982 - Personal Prelature established

Saturday, 9 April 1990 - Declaration of Jose María's heroic values

Saturday, 6 July 1991 - Promulgation of miraculous healing

Sunday, 17 May 1992 - Beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II

Thursday, 21 May 1992 - Jose María's body translated to altar of crypt in the Oratory of Prelature Church of Our Lady of Peace, viale Bruno Buozzi 75, in Rome

Sunday, 6 October 2002 - Canonized in Rome by Pope John Paul II

Tuesday, 30 August 2005 - His Carrara marble statue completed

Wednesday, 14 September 2005 - Statue placed in niche of outside wall of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome

Official Catholic Church documents

• Pope John Paul II. Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints. (9 April 1990). Papal Decree Christifideles Omnes Cause of canonization of the Servant of God Josemaria Escriva, Priest, Founder of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei (1902-1975)
• Pope John Paul II. (7 October 2002). Address in Praise of Saint Josemaría -- summarizes Escrivá's and Opus Dei's mission, work, message, and the main features of his teachings
• Pope John Paul II. Homilies and discourses about the founder of Opus Dei.

Writings by Josemaría Escrivá

• Josemaría Escrivá: Furrow. Scepter Publications, 2002, ISBN 978-1889334509
• Josemaría Escrivá: The Forge. Scepter Publications, 2002, ISBN 978-1889334516
• Josemaría Escrivá: The Way (book). Gracewing, 2002, ISBN 978-0852445662
• Josemaría Escrivá De Balaguer: Conversations with Monsignor Josemaría Escrivá. Scepter Publications, 2003, ISBN 978-1889334585

Writings about Escrivá and his works

By Opus Dei members

• Antonio Aranda (2000). El bullir de la sangre de Cristo": estudio sobre el cristocentrismo del beato Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Rialp. 84-321-3283-7.
• ed. M. Belda; et al. (1997). Holiness and the World: Studies in the Teachings of Blessed Josemariá Escrivá. Scepter Publications. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help) – collection of contributions to a theological symposium; contributors include Ratzinger, del Portillo, Cottier, dalla Torre, Ocariz, Illanes, Aranda, Burggraf and an address by John Paul II
• Peter Berglar (1994). Opus Dei. Life and Work of its Founder. Scepter. ISBN 0933932650. – A study of Opus Dei based on the life story and work of its founder written by a professor of history at the University of Cologne
• Federico Delclaux (1992). Santa María en los escritos del Beato Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Rialp. ISBN 84-321-2946-1.
• Javier Echevarria (2000). Memoría del Beato Josemaría Escriva, Rialp, ISBN 84-321-3305-1
• Dennis Helming (1986). Footprints in the snow. A pictorial biography of the founder of Opus Dei. Scepter. – the first biography written by an American.
• José Luis Illanes (1982). On the Theology of Work: Aspects of the Teaching of the Founder of Opus Dei. Four Courts Press, Dublin.
• Fernando Ocariz (1995). God as Father in the Message of Blessed Josemaria. Scepter.
• Francisco Ponz (2000). Mi encuentro con el Fundador del Opus Dei. Madrid, 1939-1944, Eunsa
• Alvaro del Portillo, Cesare Cavalleri (1996). Immersed in God: Blessed Josemaria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei As Seen by His Successor, Bishop Alvaro Del Portillo, Scepter Publishers, ISBN 0933932855
• Andres Vasquez de Prada (1997). The Founder of Opus Dei. The Life of Josemaria Escrivá, Scepter Publishers.
• Pilar Urbano (1995). El hombre de Villa Tevere: los años romanos de Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, Plaza & Janés, ISBN 8401375398
• Salvador Bernal (1978). Msgr. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer: a profile of the Founder of Opus Dei, Veritas.

By others

• Luis Carandell (1992). Vida y milagros de Monseñor Escrivá de Balaguer – hosted by OpusLibros (critical)
• Kenneth Woodward (1992). "A Coming-Out Party in Rome, Opus Dei prepares to stand by its man" (pdf; 540 kB), Newsweek, May 18, 1992
• Opposition to Canonization by ODAN (opposition)
• B. Badrinas, ed. (1992). Testimonies on Josemaria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei, Sinagtala. – collection of some testimonies given by ecclesiastical officials which were used for the beatification process.
• Jesús Ynfante (2002). El santo fundador del Opus Dei. Biografía completa de Josemaría Escrivá – hosted by OpusLibros (critical)
• William May (2003). Holiness and Ordinary Life in the Teaching of Saint Josemaria Escriva – theological analysis of Escrivá's teachings
• Ernest Caparros (2001). The Juridical Mind of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá. Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago.
• Blaye, Edouard de. (1976). Franco and the Politics of Spain. Penguin Books, ISBN 0140219498
• Ramón Garriga (1977). El Cardenal Segura y el Nacional-Catolicismo. Planeta, Barcelona, ISBN 84-320-5367-5.
• Fabro Cornelio, Garofalo Salvatore, Raschini Maria Adelaide (1992). Santi nel mondo. Ares, ISBN 8881550709
• William Keenan (2004). St Josemaria Escriva And The Origins Of Opus Dei: The Day The Bells Rang Out. Gracewing, ISBN 0852445814
• Eugueny Pazukhin (2000). Blessed Josemaria Escriva's Life and Achievement – first Russian biography by an Orthodox thinker, philosopher and journalist

External links

• John Paul II on St. Josemaria
• Patron Saints Index: St Josemaría Escrivá (primary source)
• St Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei
• Documents of the Holy See about Opus Dei and its founder
• Writings of Josemaría Escrivá
• The Opus Dei Awareness Network (opposition)
• Josemaria Escrivá and Nazism
• EWTN webpage, containing biography, spiritual writings, video-audio presentation
• Comments by Popes on Josemaria Escriva
• Interview with Cardinal Julian Herranz about Josemaria Escriva
• Most recent accounts of favors received