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Pastoral activities have begun in the temporary facilities of the Church dedicated to St. Josemaría in the Santa Fe district of Mexico City.

In addition to three Sunday Masses and a daily celebration of the Eucharist, catechesis has been started for children and adults.

Initiatives are also being carried out for the most needy in the adjoining impoverished neighborhoods, including an office for free legal aid, a psychological and educational consultative office, a medical clinic, soccer clinics for children and teenagers, and literacy courses for adults.


Since October 6, 2002, date of the canonization of the founder of Opus Dei, Archbishop Fernand Franck of Luxembourg has celebrated an annual Thanksgiving Mass in the Luxembourg Cathedral. On October 28, 2005, many families from the city of Luxembourg and the surrounding area were invited to attend this liturgical act. Two Luxembourg priests, Fathers Marcel Pündel and Michel Majerus, and two priests of the Opus Dei Prelature, Stéphane Seminckx of Brussels and Josef Arquer of Trier, concelebrated with the Archbishop.

Archbishop Franck referred in his homily especially to recent events in the life of the Church: the World Youth Day with the new Pope Benedict XVI in Cologne, from August 16 to 21, and the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Both events had as a central theme the mystery of the Eucharist. He asked those present to consider the motto of the World Youth Day: “We have come to worship him.” It is an invitation to visit Jesus frequently in the Tabernacles where he is present. He also cited a point from The Way: “Don’t omit the visit to the Blessed Sacrament. After your usual vocal prayer, tell Jesus, really present in the Tabernacle, of the cares and worries of your day. And you will receive light and strength for your life as a Christian” (The Way, no. 554).


On the occasion of the Year of St. James, in 2004, a sculptural display was erected on the Camino de Santiago, at the entrance to the Compostelan city, called the “Porta Itineris Sancti Jacobi” and also the European Door, which includes a bronze relief of St. Josemaría Escrivá together with 19 other personalities connected with the pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James. In the summer of 2005, on its first anniversary, the Xunta (Governing Body) of Galicia published a commemorative book that includes sketches of the 20 people represented, including Pope John Paul II, St. Dominic de la Calzada, Pope Callistus II, Diego Gelmirez, Isabel of Portugal and Jan Van Eyck.

The three 20th century people represented on the Porta Itineris are: Cardinal Quiroga Palacios, Archbishop of Santiago, and two pilgrims, John Paul II and St. Josemaría Escrivá. “Both,” says the book, “bear witness to the contemporary concern to undertake a pilgrimage to the apostolic tomb.”

St. Josemaría was in Santiago de Compostela on various occasions. The first time was during the Holy Year in 1938.

Romana, n. 41, July-December 2005, p. 316-317.

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