Romana

On July 9, 2005 a solemn Mass in honor of St. Josemaría was held in the chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in Jakarta. Presiding over the Eucharist was Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia and East Timor. Concelebrating with him was Msgr. Ramon Lopez Mondejar, Regional Vicar of the Prelature of Opus Dei in Southeast Asia. Some 150 people attended the Mass.

A Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of St. Josemaría was also held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Johore Bahru, Malaysia, on September 17. The celebrant was Father Michael Chang, a priest of Opus Dei of Malay origin. Some 100 people attended, a number of them coming from the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

On October 2, Msgr. Alex Amante, Vicar General of the Diocese of San Pablo, in the province of Laguna, Philippines, blessed the new reredos for the chapel of the Seminary of San Pedro. The reredos features two priests side by side, St. Josemaría and St. Jean Marie Vianney: “Both were exemplary priests who inspired many other priests to sanctify themselves in the exercise of their ministry and to give themselves fully to God,” said Msgr. Amante, who ended his homily with an invitation to pray for their intercession. In addition to the seminarians and their families, many people from nearby cities who have devotion to St. Josemaría attended the ceremony.

The “Association of Friends of St. Josemaría” organized an exposition about the founder of Opus Dei in Rouen to celebrate the third anniversary of his canonization.

With the blessing of Archbishop Jean-Charles Descubes, and with the enthusiastic support of the pastor, the event took place in the Church of Saint Godard, one of the city’s architectural jewels.

The exhibit, which lasted four days, began on October 10 after Mass was celebrated. It included some twenty panels that described with photographs and explanatory texts the various stages of St. Josemaría’s life and the spirit of Opus Dei. Visitors could also watch a documentary video of the canonization ceremony.