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13 unusual facts about Opus Dei


Bernard Nathanson

In 1996 he converted to Catholicism through the efforts of an Opus Dei priest, the Rev. C. John McCloskey.

Enrique Colom

A secular priest, he is an ordained priest of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, on 4 August 1974.

Francisco Fernández Carvajal

Francisco Fernández Carvajal or Francis Fernandez (Granada, 1938) is a Spanish Roman Catholic priest in the Opus Dei Prelature and author of several books.

Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne

The cardinal is a member of the Personal Prelature Opus Dei; he was the first priest incardinated into Opus Dei to be made a cardinal.

He is a member of the prominent conservative Peruvian Thorne family, and one of two cardinals who are members of Opus Dei, the other being Julián Herranz Casado.

After working as an engineer, he was ordained as a priest for the Personal Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei in 1977; he also holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Navarra.

Martin Rhonheimer

Martin Rhonheimer (born 1950 in Zurich, Switzerland) is a Swiss academic philosopher and a priest of the Catholic personal prelature Opus Dei.

Montrose School

They asked the Prelature of Opus Dei to provide chaplains to oversee the religious teachings, celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and occasionally teach.

Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church

Paul Baumann of Washington Monthly states: "has earned a reputation for balanced, informed reporting. He does not simply reflect the leanings of the liberal weekly paper that is his primary outlet. Here, that reputation gives credence to much of what Opus Dei members tell him in defending the group's philosophy and practices. In that sense, Allen may be too liberal for his own good."

Penny Lernoux

It also dissected various groups struggling for control of the church and examined the popularity of Opus Dei, Communion and Liberation, the Knights of Malta and Tradition, Family and Property.

The Work

Opus Dei: a Catholic religious organization which literally means "God's Work"

William H. Stetson

William H. Stetson is a Roman Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei ordained in 1962.

The operation of the Center has been entrusted to priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei since 1993.


Alois Estermann

The text Bugie di sangue in Vaticano (1999), written by "a group of Vatican ecclesiastics and lays who cannot continue to avail, with their silence, official truth told by the Vatican", supports the hypothesis that Estermann was the Pope's personal guard, and that he was killed in the course of a supposed struggle between the Opus Dei and masonic parties within the Vatican hierarchy, both attempting to annex the Swiss guard.

Feast of the Guardian Angels

The Feast of the Guardian Angels was of seminal importance to Josemaría Escrivá, who considered himself to have been inspired by God to found Opus Dei on October 2, 1928.

Julián Herranz Casado

One of two cardinals – along with Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne – who belong to Opus Dei, Herranz Casado is the organisation's highest-ranking member in the Church's hierarchy.

Roman Catholicism in El Salvador

Fernando Sáenz Lacalle, originally of Opus Dei, is the current Archbishop of San Salvador.

Solemnity

The optional memorial of Saint Patrick on 17 March is a solemnity in Ireland, the memorial of Saint Josemaría Escrivá on 26 June is a solemnity within the prelature of Opus Dei, and the optional memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on 16 July is a solemnity for the Carmelites.