Romana

Forty years ago, from October 30 to November 2, 1972, St. Josemaria stayed at La Quinta de Enxomil, in northern Portugal (near Oporto), in the course of an apostolic trip to various cities on the Iberian Peninsula. This was his last trip to Portugal. In Enxomil he received many people and had meetings with a number of groups. In honor of this anniversary a symposium was organized at La Quinta de Enxomil from November 23 to 25, 2012, under the title “Professing the faith with naturalness” (taken from some words of the founder spoken during those days back in 1972), which also drew inspiration from the Year of Faith.

Some of the questions dealt with in the conferences were: “The Faith in St. Josemaría,” “From The Catechism of Trent to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,” “Bright and cheerful homes,” “Doctrinal-religious formation,” “What St. Josemaría said forty years ago in Enxomil,” and “Apostolate with and in the family.” Many of the speakers had met St. Josemaría on that trip, and shared their personal memories of the founder of Opus Dei. In addition three movies were projected: “El Credo,” by Alberto Michelini, about John Paul II; a recording of St. Josemaría in the Viaro School in 1972; and an Argentinean documentary entitled “Building the Family.”

There was also an opportunity to walk around the gardens and visit the shrine of Our Lady Queen of the World, where the Rosary was recited before the statue that was given and blessed by the Venerable Alvaro del Portillo on October 12,1992, when he passed through Enxomil during the trip that he made to thank our Lady of Fatima for the beatification of the founder of Opus Dei. The approximately forty cooperators of Opus Dei who took part in the gathering left happy and moved.