After traveling to Fatima, in Portugal, to pray at the shrine of our Lady, Bishop Echevarría went on to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, to gain the Jubilee Indulgence, following in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI, who had been there a few weeks earlier, and “with the same spirit” as St. Josemaría Escrivá’s visit to Santiago in 1938, also a jubilee year. 

After completing the Jubilee prayers in the Cathedral and giving the traditional embrace to the statue of St. James, he met with faithful of Opus Dei at La Estila student residence to encourage their efforts in the apostolic, educational and social works that Opus Dei carries out in the province of Galicia, as in many other places around the world.

He urged them to be optimistic in the face of any difficulties: “I’ve come here to thank you for all that you are doing, and to remind you that you are never alone.” He reminded them that the goal of Opus Dei is “to strive to sanctify ordinary life. Do we truly sanctify it? Do we try each day to pray well, to start our work on time, to speak in a friendly way when we are tired, to look for the best way to serve others? That’s what it means to do Opus Dei in our daily life.” 

About a thousand people attended the two get-togethers with the Prelate.

Bishop Echevarría also visited Galicia in 1995 when he met with more than 13,000 people in the Colosseum in La Coruña, took part in other activities in Santiago, and opened a conference center in San Pantaleón das Viñas. A more recent visit, in 1999, was of a private nature, similar to this one.