Romana

The Plaza de San Josemaría en Tegucigalpa, Honduras. On Saturday, May 10, a square dedicated to St. Josemaría was inaugurated in Tegucigalpa. Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga blessed a commemorative monument, decorated with a bronze bas-relief of St. Josemaría and, on the other side, a ceramic image of Our Lady of Suyapa, the Patroness of Honduras.

The Plaza de San Josemaría in Urio, Italy. On May 3 the square fronting the dock of Urio was dedicated to St. Josemaría. The ceremony began with Holy Mass celebrated by Bishop Diego Coletti of Como who concelebrated with Msgr. Lucio Norbedo, the Vicar of the Prelature in Italy, and other priests. Local authorities present included the Prefect of the Province of Como and the Mayors of Carate Urio, Cernobbio, Moltrasio, Lenno, Laglio, and Brienno, towns close to Urio. After Mass, during the inauguration of the recently renovated square, the mayor of Carate Urio, Daniele Maggi, stressed the simplicity and humility of the saint, who is recalled here as an approachable person who sought personal contact with the people of the area.

After some words by Msgr. Norbedo, who recalled his first meeting with St. Josemaría as a young university student in Urio, a bronze plaque in the square was uncovered with the words: “St. Josemaría Escrivá, priest, 1902-1975, Founder of Opus Dei, present in Carate Urio from 1955 to 1973.”

At the end of the ceremony, more than a thousand of those attending went to the Castello di Urio, where a series of guided tours of the historic villa were conducted. There was also a photographic display on the life of the saint. Throughout the year, the Castello hosts activities of Christian formation for men and women of all walks of life.

A square dedicated to St. Josemaría in the city of Santa Ana, El Salvador. A large crowd was present in Santa Ana on May 31 for the inauguration of the Plaza San Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. A bust of the saint about five feet in height, framed in an elegant architectural setting, gives a special luster to the new plaza. The bust is the work of the sculptor Miguel Rivera, and was donated by the National Council for Culture and Art. The mayor of the city, Orlando Mena, and the president of the committee for the Plaza San Josemaría, René Arrival, unveiled the bust, which was blessed by Archbishop Fernando Saenz LaSalle of San Salvador.

A walkway dedicated to St. Josemaría in Loreto, Italy. On Saturday March 1, the Percorso San Josemaría Escrivá was inaugurated in Loreto. This is a walkway that ascends in seven curves up the hill at Loreto from the bus parking lot to the Shrine. The walkway features 14 plaques by the artist Amalia Mestichelli, representing the Stations of the Cross, with brief commentaries by St. Josemaría at each one.

Present at the ceremony were Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci, the Pontifical Delegate for the Holy House and the Prelate of Loreto, and Bishop Javier Echevarría, the Prelate of Opus Dei, who walked along the new pathway, followed by numerous faithful, in an atmosphere of recollection and piety. At each station the group stopped to listen to paragraphs from St. Josemaría’s book The Way of the Cross, read by Alberto Michellini, former TV journalist of RAI and former Deputy of the European Parliament and of the Republic of Italy.^[1]

^[1] See homily and address on p.61 an p.82.