Opus Dei

Letter of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to Bishop Javier Echevarría on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination.

After praying the Angelus with the faithful in Castelgandolfo, Benedict XVI expressed his sorrow over the catastrophe which struck the city of New Orleans, and the one in Baghdad which took hundreds of lives last Wednesday due to sudden panic in a religious procession.

COLOGNE. Text of an interview with Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei, granted to ZENIT, on August 24, 2005, regarding the recent World Youth Day.

A statue of St. Josemaria was placed just outside St. Peter's Basilica on August 30. It is the work of sculptor Romano Cosci.

Address of Benedict XVI to the crowds during the ceremony before his departure from Cologne.

The Holy Father addressed his homily during the Holy Mass to a large crowd of participants at the World Youth Day.

Bishop Echevarría spoke about the meaning of World Youth Day on Aug. 13, just before leaving for Cologne.

On August 7, the Opus Dei Prelate observed the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. He was ordained in Madrid with other members of Opus Dei in 1955. The anniversary is to be publicly celebrated in September. The following passages are taken from Bishop Echevarría's book, "Para Servir a la Iglesia"

Evgeni Pazukhin of St. Petersburg, Russia, is a philosopher and author. He has written the first biography of St. Josemaría Escrivá in Russian.

The TOT (Training of Trainers) Project began in 2003. University students from Fanusi Study Centre, a corporate apostolic work of Opus Dei, are trained to train rural women to start and run their own micro businesses.