Romana

Andorra celebrates the 75th anniversary of the passage of a saint

The founder of Opus Dei passed through Andorra from December 2 to 10,1937, after a number of days of tense marches through forests and mountains. The event has been documented by Alfred Llahi and Jordi Piferrer, who in 2010 published Andorra: tierra de acogida, a day-to-day reconstruction of the stay by St. Josemaría and his companions in the principality: “The message of St. Josemaria harmonizes perfectly with the principality of Andorra,” says Llahi, “since Andorra is a symbol of peace, freedom and forgiveness.”

On June 30, in Prats de Gastó, a public gathering took place sponsored by the Association of Friends of the Pallerols Pathway from Rialb to Andorra (Sant Julià de Lòria). The central ceremony was a Mass in honor of St. Josemaría presided over by the Archbishop of Seu d’Urgell and Co-Prince of Andorra, Most Rev. Joan Enric Vives. This act inaugurated the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the stay of the founder of Opus Dei in the small Pyrenean state.

A monstrance for the parish with the parishioners’ jewelry

On June 1, the Vicar of the delegation of Opus Dei in Valencia celebrated Holy Mass in the parish of St. Josemaria Escrivá in that city and blessed a new monstrance. The monstrance was crafted by a silversmith from Seville using jewels donated during the last five years by the parishioners themselves. The 32-inch high monstrance will be used at solemn celebrations.

The prayer card of St. Josemaría in Aranés

The valley of Arán, in the far northwest Catalonian Pyrenees, is the only Spanish Pyrenean valley that flows into the Atlantic. There the river Garonne is born, which traverses southern France and empties into the Atlantic at Bordeaux. This valley has a strong personality and even its own language: Aranés. The prayer card of St. Josemaría has just been printed for the first time in this language, translated by Frederic Vergés. The “val d’Aran,” as it is known in its own language, has more than 10,000 inhabitants. The principal source of income is tourism, which centers on mountain sports, particularly skiing, and the area’s artistic and scenic charms. Monthly days of recollection and other activities of Christian formation organized by people of Opus Dei have been held there for a number of years.

Exposition of Romano Cosci’s works

The artist Romano Cosci, 73 years-old, works out of a studio in Tuscany, Italy. He has painted and produced sculptures of St. Josemaría for churches in various countries. His best-known sculpture of the founder of Opus Dei is the 16-foot tall statue installed in 2005 in a niche on the exterior wall of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His exposition In cammino con Cristo: l’arte come visione della fede, held at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome from March 20 to 30, included a section dedicated to St. Josemaría, a frequent subject of his work. In connection with the exposition, Cosci held a meeting with students and professors, where he responded to their questions and displayed his rapid sketching techniques. He also presented the university with a statue of our Lady that he sculpted, which has been installed in the Alvaro del Portillo Hall. The Prelate of Opus Dei, Chancellor of the University, inaugurated the exposition with an address included in this issue, and also blessed the statue of our Lady.

A Plaza in Calabria

In Gizzeria, an Italian town in the province of Catanzaro, Calabria, a plaza has been dedicated to St. Josemaría Escrivá. The Calabrian region, in the far south of the country at the toe of the “boot,” has a deeply-rooted devotion to the founder of Opus Dei. Many localities have given his name to streets or plazas, and even to schools, health centers, etc.

A statue in the São Paulo cathedral

A bronze statue of St. Josemaría has been installed in a side chapel of the Metropolitan Cathedral of São Paulo, Brazil. The ceremony of blessing and installation took place on June 23, following a Mass in honor of the founder of Opus Dei. Auxiliary Bishop Milton Kenan, of São Paulo, celebrated the Mass and blessed the statue.