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Devotion to St. Josemaría

An altarpiece in Córdoba, Spain

On November 20, during his stay in Cordoba, the Prelate of Opus Dei blessed an altarpiece with a relic ex ossibus of St. Josemaría in the Church of San Nicolas de la Villa. The altarpiece includes silver work restored by the Cordoban silversmith Damian de Castro, an oil painting of St. Josemaría in an attitude of prayer by the painter Ignacio Valdes, an inscription explaining the relationship between the saint and the city of Cordoba, and a silver medallion with the invocation “St. Josemaría, pray for us.”

St. Josemaría visited Cordoba for the first time on April 19, 1938, the first city in Andalusia he set foot in. Later he returned on four other occasions, always with the desire to spur forward the apostolic work of Opus Dei, in communion with the local bishop.


Blessing of a statue of St. Josemaría in Temperley, Argentina

On Sunday, December 6, a statue of St. Josemaría was blessed in the parish of the Sacred Heart in Temperley, Argentina.

The Mass was celebrated by the pastor Most Reverend Jose Maria Montes, Bishop Emeritus of Chascomús. The homily was preached by Fr. Jorge Fraile, Vicar of the Delegation of Opus Dei in Buenos Aires.

Faithful from various parishes in the diocese of Lomas de Zamora, to which Temperley belongs, were present, as well as many people from other dioceses in Buenos Aires.


Exposition of oil paintings in Valladolid, Spain

The painter Camilo Porta presented a series of paintings and sketches of St. Josemaría in Valladolid’s Hotel Felipe IV. The exhibition, organized by the Balandrinos Association, included a talk by Maria Dolores Cuadrado, which gave rise to a lively discussion. “Traditional iconography has always been helpful for the faith. The fact that St. Josemaría is a modern saint makes him an attractive figure even for those who don’t know him,” said Porta, in an interview about the exhibition. “I never met him personally, although I knew his writings from my youth and always had a great admiration for him. As an anecdote I can tell you that the saint himself saw and prayed before an altarpiece done by me in a chapel in Madrid and said he could see it was done with love. I found that deeply moving.”


In a parish in São Paulo, Brazil

The church of Our Lady of Montserrat is located in a busy square in downtown São Paulo. Spurred by their devotion to St. Josemaría, some faithful and Cooperators of Opus Dei who regularly attend Holy Mass in that church suggested to the pastor that an image of the saint be installed. The pastor, who has great appreciation for the apostolic work of the Prelature, liked the idea and took up a collection among his parishioners to obtain the necessary funds.

The ceremony of blessing the small sculpture took place on Sunday, September 13, after Mass. Some Cooperators brought with them prayer cards, bulletins and novena texts for popular devotion to St. Josemaría.

Fr. Milton Ferreroni, a priest of the Prelature, gave the homily at the invitation of the pastor. He mentioned some highlights in the Founder of Opus Dei’s life and encouraged those present to seek and find our Lord in the midst of their daily duties and responsibilities.

Along with the words for the blessing of the sculpture, some words spoken by St. Josemaría during his stay in São Paulo in 1974 were recalled: May you multiply like the sands of your beaches, like the trees of your forests, like the flowers of your gardens, like the sounds of your birds, like the aromatic grains of your coffee, like the stars that shine in the night.


San Salvatore in Lauro: a church in the heart of Rome

Ulisse Sartini, a well-known Italian artist, is the painter of a small portrait recently installed in San Salvatore in Lauro, in the historic center of Rome. It was inaugurated on October 26 by Cardinal Julian Herranz, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and President of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia.

The ceremony, which many people attended, included praying the Rosary, the blessing of the image, Holy Mass and an artistic presentation about the painting. In connection with the ceremony, the parish of San Salvatore in Lauro has organized a series of prayer services inspired by the preaching of St. Josemaría. These take place on the 26th of each month, in remembrance of June 26, 1975, the date of his passage to heaven.

Romana, n. 49, July-December 2009, p. 321-323.

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