Saint Josemaria made his First Communion on 23 April 1912, exactly ten years after his Confirmation. It was the feast of Saint George, patron saint of Aragon and Catalonia, and the traditional day for First Communion ceremonies.
This was the motto that Saint Josemaria set for himself at the beginning of 1972, in the face of many challenges in the Church and the world. An extract from Andrés Vazquez de Prada's biography of the founder of Opus Dei.
"I was baptized an evangelical Lutheran and even received Confirmation, but I can’t claim that I was a good Christian." Another story about how Saint Josemaria's book "The Way" has changed people's lives.
A priest in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church speaks about the support he found as a seminarian in Saint Josemaria's book during the communist years in his country.
Fr Willie Doyle, a heroic Irish Jesuit military chaplain, died in battle 100 years ago. The story of how St Josemaria came to know about his life and include his example of self-denial in "The Way."
"I always thought that I was living as a good Catholic. Then one day I came upon a copy of 'The Way.'" José recounts how reading a book by the founder of Opus Dei helped him change his life.
Saint Josemaria is the first pilgrim to Fatima raised to the altars. The story of Fatima as it impacted his life, and also the life of Saint John Paul II.
"I asked our Lord not to let me die before once again being able to have this book in my hands,” recounts an elderly woman in Havana, Cuba. A new "Story about 'The Way.'"
The book written by Saint Josemaria with 999 brief considerations has now sold over five million copies since it was published in 1934. To mark this milestone, we will offer a number of personal stories about “The Way,” recounted by people who thanks to the book have discovered Christ.
Saint Josemaria was canonized on October 6, 2002. Here is the address Pope John Paul II gave the next day, a powerful summary of the new saint's life and message.
An excerpt from "The Founder of Opus Dei" (Vol. I)," by Andres Vazquez de Prada, which shows some of the difficulties Saint Josemaria had to confront in getting Opus Dei started.
Alice Agusto (Hong Kong) is married and has four children. She describes how receiving classes of Christian formation regularly helps her to be a better and happier person: "I can share from experience that there is always something new to learn.I found it very good to keep reviewing, and it has served as good guidance in my life and in decision making."
