OPUS.DECREES ****** SACRED CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS Declaration concerning Opus Dei The Second Vatican Council provided for the setting up of personal prelatures which would engage in particular pastoral work (Decl. Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 10 par 2). These prelatures, which were later regulated juridically in the pontifical legislation applying the conciliar Decrees (cf. Motu Proprio Ecclesiae Sanctae Part 1, n. 4), are a further proof of the sensitiveness with which the Church responds to the specific pastoral and evangelizing needs of our time. For this reason, the pontifical act erecting Opus Dei as a personal prelature, with the name Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is directly aimed at promoting the apostolic activity of the Church, inasmuch as it puts into operation a new pastoral instrument, which up to now was only foreseen and desired in the law of the Church, and it does so through an institution which offers proven guarantees of apostolic vigour, discipline and faithfulness to the teaching of the Church. At the same time the pontifical decision provides Opus Dei with an ecclesial configuration fully in keeping with its foundational charism and sociological structure. While solving the institutional situation it makes the insertion of the institution in the organic pastoral activity of the universal Church and of the local Churches even more perfect, and in that way renders its service more effective. As can be seen in the norms by which the Holy See regulates the structures and activity of the prelature, while duly respecting the legitimate rights of diocesan bishops, the chief characteristics of the prelature which has been erected are the following: I. Organization a) the Prelature Opus Dei is international. The central offices of the prelate, who is the ordinary of the prelature and of his councils, are in Rome; b) the clergy of the prelature incardinated therein, are derived from the laity incorporated in the prelature. Therefore no candidate for the priesthood, deacon or priest is withdraw from the local Churches; c) the laity (men and women, single or married, of all professions and social situations) who dedicate themselves to the service of the apostolic purpose of the prelature, with a serious commitment, do so in virtue of a clearly defined contract, and not by vows. II. The Prelature Opus Dei is a secular jurisdictional structure, and therefore: a) as established in the general law of the Church and in the law of the prelature, the clergy incardinated in the prelature belong to the secular clergy to all effects. They therefore maintain close relations with the secular priests of the local Churches and, with respect to priests' councils, they enjoy an active and passive voice; b) the laity incorporated in the prelature do not alter their personal situation. canonically or theologically. They continue to be ordinary lay faithful and act accordingly in all matters and, specifically, in their apostolate; c) in the aims and spirit of Opus Dei stress is laid on the sanctifying value of ordinary work, that is to say, on the obligation to sanctify work, to sanctify oneself in one's work, and to turn it into an instrument of the apostolate. Therefore, the work and apostolate of those who form part of the prelature are normally carried out in the structure and environment of secular society, bearing in mind the general indications which the Holy See or diocesan bishops may give concerning the apostolate of the laity; d) as regards decisions in professional, social, political matters, etc., the lay faithful of the prelature enjoy, within the limits of Catholic faith and morals and of the discipline of the Church, the same freedom as other Catholics, their fellow citizens; hence, the prelature does not make itself responsible for the professional, political or economic activities of any of its members. III. The jurisdiction of the prelature a) the power of the prelate is an ordinary power of jurisdiction or government, limited to that which refers to the specific finality of the prelature, and differs substantially, by reason of the matter involved, from the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishops in the ordinary spiritual care of the faithful; b) as well as the government of the clergy of the prelature, the jurisdiction of the prelate includes the general direction of the formation and of the specific apostolic and spiritual attention which the laity incorporated in Opus Dei receive, to help them live a more intense dedication in the service of the Church; c) together with the right to incardinate his own candidates to the priesthood, the prelate has the obligation to attend to their specific formation in the centres of the prelature, in conformity with the norms established by the competent Congregation, and to the spiritual life and the permanent formation of the priests promoted by him to Holy Orders. He is also obliged to provide for the proper support of his clergy, and for their care in old age and in the case of illness, etc.; d) the laity are under the jurisdiction of the prelate in regard to what has to do with the fulfillment of the specific ascetic, formative and apostolic commitments which they have freely undertaken by means of the contractual bond dedicating them to the service of the aims of the prelature. IV. With reference to ecclesiastical territorial laws and to the legitimate rights of local ordinaries: a) as established by law the members of the prelature must observe the territorial norms which refer to general directives of a doctrinal, liturgical and pastoral nature, the laws concerning public order and, in the case of the priests also the general discipline of the clergy; b) the priests of the prelature must obtain the ministerial faculties of the competent territorial authority, to exercise their ministry with people who do not form part of Opus Dei; c) the laity incorporated in the Prelature Opus Dei continue to be faithful of the dioceses in which they have their domicile or quasi-domicile and are, therefore, under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop in what the law lays down for all the ordinary faithful. V. In regard to the pastoral coordination with local ordinaries, and the fruitful insertion of the Prelature Opus Dei in the local Churches, it is also established that: a) the prior permission of the competent diocesan bishop is required for the erection of each centre of the prelature. The diocesan bishop is informed regularly about the activities of those centres and has the right to visit them, ad normam juris; b) as regards parishes, rectoral churches or other churches, and also other ecclesiastical offices which the local ordinary may entrust to the prelature or to the priests incardinated in the prelature, an agreement will be drawn up in each case between the local ordinary and the Prelate of Opus Dei or his vicars; c) in each country the prelature will maintain regular contact with the president and with the organisms of the episcopal conference, and have frequent contact with the bishops of the dioceses in which the prelature is established. VI. The Sacerdotal Society of the Holy Cross is an association which is inseparably united to the prelature. Priests of the diocesan clergy who wish to strive for sanctity in their ministry in accordance with the spirituality of Opus Dei may form part of this association. These priests, by virtue of their membership in the association, do not form part of the clergy of the prelature. They remain, to all effects and purposes, under the jurisdiction of their own ordinary, whom they will inform, if he wishes, of their membership in the association. VII. The prelature is under the Sacred Congregation for Bishops (cf. Ap. Consl. Regimini Ecclesiae Universae, n. 49, par. 1), and, like the other autonomous jurisdictions, is entitled to deal directly with the relevant Congregation or Department of the Roman Curia, according to the nature of the matter involved in each case. VIII. Through the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, the prelate will present to the Roman Pontiff, every five years, a detailed report on the state of the prelature and on the development of its specific apostolate, both from the juridical and from the pastoral points of view. The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, by Divine Providence Pope, in the audience granted to the undersigned Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops on 5 August 1982, approved, confirmed and ordered to be published this Declaration concerning the erection of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. Rome, Sacred Congregation for Bishop. 23 August 1982. + SEBASTIANO Card. BAGGIO, Prefect + LUCAS MOREIRA NEVES, Tit. Archbishop of Feradi maius, Secretary L'Osservatore Romano - Weekly Edition in English, 17 January 1983 ***** JOHN PAUL BISHOP SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD FOR A PERMANENT RECORD OF THE MATTER With very great hope, the Church directs its attention and maternal care to Opus Dei, which - by divine inspiration - the Servant of God Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer founded in Madrid on October 2, 1928, so that it may always be an apt and effective instrument of the salvific mission which the Church carries out for the life of the world. From its beginnings, this Institution has in fact striven, not only to illuminate with new lights the mission of the laity in the Church and in society, but also to put it into practice; it has also endeavored to put into practice the teaching of the universal call to sanctity, and to promote at all levels of society the sanctification of ordinary work, and by means of ordinary work. Furthermore, through the Sacerdotal Society of the Holy Cross, it has helped diocesan priests to live this teaching, in the exercise of their sacred ministry. Since Opus Dei has grown, with the help of divine grace, to the extent that it has spread and works in a large number of dioceses throughout the world, as an apostolic organism made up of priests and laity, both men and women, which is at the same time organic and undivided - that is to say, as an institution endowed with a unity of spirit, of aims, of government and of formation - it has become necessary to give it a juridical configuration which is suited to its specific characteristics. It was the Founder of Opus Dei himself who, in 1962, in a humble and trusting petition, asked the Holy See to grant an appropriate ecclesial configuration to the Institution, bearing in mind its true nature and theological characteristics, and with a view to a greater apostolic effectiveness. From the time when the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council introduced into the legislation of the Church, by means of the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 10 - which was made effective by the Motu proprio Ecclesiae Sanctae, I, n.4 -, the figure of the personal Prelatures, to carry out specific pastoral activities, it was seen clearly that this juridical figure was perfectly suited to Opus Dei. Therefore, in 1969, Our Predecessor Paul VI, of beloved memory, graciously accepting the petition of the Servant of God Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, authorized him to convoke a special General Congress to begin, under his guidance, the study necessary for a transformation of Opus Dei, in keeping with its nature and the norms of the Second Vatican Counsel. We ourselves expressly ordered that this study should continue, and in 1979, We requested the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, which was the competent Congregation, by virtue of the matter involved, to examine the formal petition presented by Opus Dei, following a careful study of all the relevant facts and legal data. In carrying out the task entrusted to it, the Sacred Congregation carefully examined the matter, taking into account the historical, and also the juridical and pastoral aspects. Thus, having completely eliminated all doubts about the basis, and the possibility, and the specific manner of granting the petition, it became abundantly clear that the desired transformation of Opus Dei into a personal Prelature was opportune and useful. Therefore, We, with the plenitude of Our apostolic power, having accepted the opinion which Our Venerable Brother the Most Eminent and Most Reverend Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops had expressed to Us, and making good, in so far as it is necessary, the consent of those who have, or think they have some competence in this matter, command and desire the following to be put into practice. I Opus Dei is erected as a personal Prelature, international in ambition, with the name of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, or, in abbreviated form, Opus Dei. The Sacerdotal Society of the Holy Cross is erected as a clerical Association intrinsically united to the Prelature. II The Prelature is governed by the norms of general law, by those of this Constitution, and by its own Statutes, which receive the name "Code of particular law of Opus Dei". III The jurisdiction of the personal Prelature extends to the clergy incardinated in it, and also - only in what refers to the fulfillment of the specific obligations undertaken through the juridical bond, by means of a contract with the Prelature - to the laity who dedicate themselves to the apostolic activities of the Prelature: both clergy and laity are under the authority of the Prelate in carrying out the pastoral task of the Prelature, as established in the preceding article. IV The Ordinary of the Prelature Opus Dei is its Prelate, whose election, which has to be carried out as established in general and particular law, has to be confirmed by the Roman Pontiff. V The Prelature is under the Sacred Congreation for Bishops, and will also deal directly with the other Congregations or Departments of the Roman Curia, according to the nature of the matter involved. VI Through the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, the Prelate will present to the Roman Pontiff, every five years, a report on the state of the Prelature, and on the development of its apostolic work. VII The central Government of the Prelature has its offices in Rome. The oratory of Our Lady of Peace, which is in the central offices of the Prelature, is erected as a prelatic church. The Most Reverend Monsignor Alvaro del Portillo, canonically elected President General of Opus Dei on September 15, 1975, is confirmed and is appointed Prelate of the personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, which has been erected. Finally, We designate the Venerable Brother Romolo Carboni, Titular Archbishop of Sidone and Apostolic Nuncio in Italy, for the opportune execution of all the above, and confer on him the necessary and opportune faculties, including that of subdelegating - in the matter in question - in any ecclesiastical dignitary, with the obligation of sending, as soon as possible, to the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, an authentic copy of the act which testifies to the fact that the mandate has been carried out. All things to the contrary notwithstanding. Given in Rome at Saint Peter's, on the 28th of November, 1982, the fifth of Our Pontificate. AUGUSTINUS Card. CASAROLI Secretary of State SEBASTIANUS Card. BAGGIO Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops Iosephus Del Ton, Protonotary Apostolic Marcellus Rossetti, Protonotary Apostolic Loco + Plumbi The foregoing document is the English translation of the Apostolic Constitution Ut Sit by which the Holy See erected Opus Dei as the Catholic Church's first personal prelature. ***** CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS DECREE 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) ---------------- ON THE QUESTION: Whether the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity towards God and neighbor, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, together with their associated virtues, are established in a heroic degree in this case and for purposes attendant thereon. All the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father himself is perfect (Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium, 11). In proclaiming the vocation to holiness of every baptized person, Paul VI discerned the most characteristic element of the entire teaching of the Council and, as it were, its ultimate purpose (Motu Proprio, "Sanctitas clarior", March 19, 1969). In making this call resound the Church expresses her awareness of herself as a mystery of mankind's communion with God. In contemplating this mystery the Bride of Christ also sees her historical patrimony confirmed and hears the voice of wit- nesses to holiness whom the lifegiving Spirit has inspired in every age to lead men and women to welcome God's plan of salvation. The Servant of God Josemaria Escriva is rightly one such witness: not only in the fruitful example of his own life, but also - prophetically anticipating the Second Vatican Council - in the extraordinary vigor with which he sought from the very start of his ministry to address to all Christians the Gospel's call. Your duty is to become a saint. Yes, even you... To everyone, without exception, our Lord has said, "Be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect" (The Way, 291). These world crises are crises of saints (Ibid., 301). Many are the paths to Christian holiness. The path marked out and followed by the Servant of God reveals with special clarity the radical nature of the baptismal vocation. His vivid perception of the mystery of the Incarnation made him see how supernatural life penetrates all human realities in the heart of a person reborn in Christ. These realities thus become the setting for holiness and the means to that goal. From the late 1920s onward the Servant of God was a true pioneer of the "intrinsic unity of Christian life," proclaiming the fullness of a contemplative life "in the middle of the street," and calling all the faithful to take an active part in the apostolates of the Church from the place each one occupies in the world. This message of sanctification in and of earthly realities appears to be providentially relevant to the spiritual circumstances of our time, characterized by its concern to exalt human values yet also tending to an autonomy that divorces the world from God. Furthermore, 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. Regnare Christum volumus! "We want Christ to reign!" Here was Monsignor Escriva's program: "to place Christ at the summit of all human activities." His service to the Church helped initiate an upward movement toward God of men and women engaged in temporal affairs in all life's sectors and professions. By so doing he was following that promise of the Savior which the Servant of God regarded as central to Opus Dei's pastoral activity: Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum; "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself' (Jn 12:32). The merit of his contribution to the furtherance of the laity's role is to be found in this Christianization of the world from within. The Servant of God was born in Barbastro, Spain, on January 9, 1902, of devout and God-fearing parents. At about the age of fifteen he began to notice signs of his vocation. Although he did not know exactly what God had in store for him, he decided to become a priest as a way of preparing himself as best he could to fulfill God's will. After his ordination in Saragossa on March 28, 1925, he went to Madrid where on October 2, 1928, he saw that God wanted him to found and extend Opus Dei. For years he had begged God for light, using the words of the blind man of Jericho: Domine, ut videam! "Lord, that I may see" (Lk 18:41). On that day the Servant of God understood fully the mission to which he had been called, a mission that was to be "as old as the Gospel and like the Gospel new." His task was to open to the faithful of all walks of life a sure way of sanctification in the midst of the world, through the practice of one's professional work or job and the fulfillment of the ordinary duties of every day, without changing one's state in life, doing everything out of love for God. Not long afterward, on February 14, 1930, by God's grace he understood that Opus Dei was meant to develop its apostolate among women as well. He devoted all his energies to the fulfillment of this mission, counting always on the encouragement and blessing of the bishop of the diocese. From the very beginning he carried out a vast apostolate in every sector of society. He was particularly active in caring for the poor and the sick who often languished neglected in the poor neigh- borhoods and hospitals of Madrid. 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. On February 14, 1943, he founded the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, inseparably united to Opus Dei. This made possible the priestly ordination of lay members of Opus Dei and their incar- dination for the service of the Work. It also allowed priests incardinated in their own dioceses to share the spirituality and ascetical life of Opus Dei, by seeking holiness in the exercise of their ministry while remaining exclusively dependent on their own bishop. The work the Servant of God carried out in this field, personally or through the Priestly Society, has made him a shining example of zeal for priestly formation. In 1946 the Servant of God took up residence in Rome. In 1947 and 1960 he obtained Opus Dei's approval as an institution of pontifical right. With tireless charity and active hope he guided the development of Opus Dei throughout the world, promoting a vast mobilization of lay people who became aware of their personal responsibility in the Church's mission. He gave life to numerous initiatives in the work of evangelization and human welfare. Everywhere he fostered vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life. He carried out exhausting journeys through Europe and America, proclaiming the Church's teaching with most vigor- ous faith. Above all he devoted himself tirelessly to the task of forming the members of Opus Dei - priests and laity, men and women - so that they would acquire a solid spiritual life, an exemplary adherence to the Church's magisterium, and an ardent zeal for souls expressed in a personal commitment to carry out a far-reaching apostolate. Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam! "All with Peter to Jesus through Mary!" was the aspiration tirelessly preached and practiced by the Servant of God from the beginning of his priesthood. The salient features of his personality are to be found not only in his extraordinary talents as a man of action, but above all in the life of prayer and constant union with God that made him a "traveling contemplative." Faithful to the gifts he had received, he gave an example of heroism in the most ordinary situations, in a life of constant prayer, in uninterrupted mortifications which were "like the beating of the heart," in assiduous presence of God that could attain to the heights of union amid the hustle and bustle of daily life, and in intense persevering work. Immersed in contemplating the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, he set a sense of divine filiation in Christ as the foundation of a spirituality wherein the fortitude of faith and the apostolic daring of charity are harmoniously united with filial abandonment to the Father. The Servant of God loved the Eucharist passionately. He regarded the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as "the center and the root of Christian life." He was an untiring apostle of the sacrament of penance. He practiced a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin, "Mother of God and our Mother," to Saint Joseph, and to the Guardian Angels. He loved the Church with all the strength of his priestly heart and offered himself as a holocaust of reparation and penance for the sins with which all human beings sully her face. The prodigious fruitfulness of his apostolate was there for all to see.Yet he considered himself a "deaf and inept instrument," "a founder without foundation," "a sinner madly in love with Jesus Christ." The Servant of God died in Rome on June 26, 1975. At his death Opus Dei had more than 60,000 members of 80 nationalities. There were almost a thousand priests incardinated in the Work. Its apostolic undertakings, including schools, universities and social works, had spread the world over. The writings of the Servant of God, with millions of copies published, were already considered spiritual classics. Even during his lifetime, the Servant of God had the reputation for exceptional holiness. After his death, this reputation spread worldwide. In many countries it has become part of popular piety. The Cause of Canonization was introduced in Rome on February 19, 1981. It involved two principal processes of equal importance, which were held in Madrid and in Rome to examine the life and virtues of the Servant of God. These concluded on June 26, 1984, and on November 8,1986, respectively. At their meeting held on September 19th, 1989, the theological consultors, under the direction of the Promoter General of the Faith, Monsignor Antonio Petti, responded affirmatively to the question whether the Servant of God had practiced the virtues in a heroic manner. A like response was given by the Ordinary Congregation of Cardinals and Bishops in session on March 20, 1990, at which Cardinal Edouard Gagnon made the formal presentation. Having received from the undersigned Cardinal Prefect an accurate and faithful account of all that is related above, and having accepted the vote of the Congregation, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II ordered that the Decree on the heroic virtues of the Servant of God be drawn up. That order having now been carried out, and the Cardinal Prefect, the Presenter of the Cause, the undersigned Secretary and others according to custom having been convoked today, the Holy Father has declared in their presence: The theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, toward both God and neighbor, and also the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, with their associated virtues, have been lived to a heroic degree by the Servant of God Josemaria Escriva, Priest, Founder of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei; this is established in this case and for purposes attendant thereon. The Holy Father has ordered that this decree be made public and be recorded in the acts of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Given at Rome, on April 9 of the year 1990, A.D. L+ S Angelus Card. Felici, Prefect + Eduardus Nowak, Titular Archbishop of Luna, Secretary