Romana

On June 18, Bishop Javier Echevarría presided in Rome at the session opening the investigative phase of the canonical process on the life and virtues of Dora del Hoyo. The ceremony took place on the premises of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

Dora del Hoyo was born in Boca de Huergano (León, Spain), in 1914. After completing elementary school, she began working as a domestic employee, work that she carried out with professionalism and passion up until a few weeks before her death on January 10, 2004.

In 1939 she moved to Madrid. After working in the homes of various families, in 1944 she began to exercise her profession in La Moncloa, the university residence where she met St. Josemaría. In March 1946 she asked for admission to Opus Dei. In December of that year she moved to Rome.

From the time of her death up until the present, more than three hundred people—most of them women who practiced the same profession as she did—have written testimonies detailing how Dora’s Christian example has helped them in their own lives. In addition, written testimonies of more than 450 favors from God ascribed to her intercession have been received.

Having fulfilled the required provisions of canon law and verified the solidity of the evidence on the exemplary nature of Dora’s Christian life, the Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría, has decided to begin the juridical investigation of her life and virtues, for which he has formed a tribunal. The decree of appointment of the tribunal can be found in this issue of Romana, as well as the address opening this procedural stage.

Every cause of canonization is meant to assist the Christian life of the faithful. This cause allows one to understand better someone who made of her daily life a continuous act of self-giving to God, in joyful service in household tasks.

Dora decided to dedicate her life to work that she considered fundamental for the Church, the family, society, and for every person. She was convinced that in order to attain “a happy world,” one has to begin by creating a serene home, putting care into tasks that contribute decisively to creating an environment of harmony and good humor.

Her colleagues give testimony to the professional prestige she enjoyed. Keep pots and pans clean or serving at table were for her an opportunity to love. She strove to find God in the apparently trifling, but truly heroic, offering of her work that was well-done, with affection, one day after another, right up to the end of her life. The written recollections of Dora’s life also emphasize her good taste and elegance.