How many personal prelatures are there at present? Why aren’t there more?
The only personal prelature currently existing is Opus Dei. The fact that others have not yet been erected is due to the newness of personal prelatures, which have to offer guarantees of ecclesial solidity and be harmoniously inserted into the dioceses in which they operate. Besides, there are other ecclesiastical circumscriptions, such as the military ordinariates, with the same type of configuration, that is to say, one that is both personal and that complements the dioceses.
25 years of the Opus Dei Prelature
The following are some words by the present Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría, on the significance of the establishment of Opus Dei as a personal prelature of the Catholic Church.
Artistic creation and Josemaría Escrivá
Alexander Zorin, eminent Russian intellectual and poet, and a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, reflects on the teachings of Josemaría Escrivá. During the Soviet era, he discovered a typewritten Russian translation of The Way.
How does the diocese benefit from the work of the faithful of Opus Dei?
The work and entire life of the members of Opus Dei, to the extent to which they are loyal to their vocation, constitutes a part of the spiritual and apostolic good of the diocese.
Opus Dei and the dioceses
At the institutional level, what is Opus Dei’s relationship with the dioceses? Is its pastoral work carried out in accord with religious institutions and other ecclesial entities?
Do the laity belong to the prelature, or only the priests?
Both belong equally to the prelature.
What was Opus Dei before it became a prelature? How did the 1950 statutes differ from the present ones?
From its foundation on October 2, 1928, Opus Dei was already in essence, although in an embryonic state, the same as we see it today: a part of the Church, made up of faithful and structured hierarchically around a head who was at first the founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá, a priest.
How do personal prelatures resemble and how do they differ from dioceses, religious orders and movements?
One should keep in mind that all ecclesial realities share in the life and purpose of the one Church. Therefore, all are called to live in the same ecclesial communion and to foster mutual affection.
Does Opus Dei have greater autonomy now that it is a prelature. Can one speak of Opus Dei as a church within the Church?
No part of the Church constitutes "a church within the Church."