Recent Events in Opus Dei's Juridical Path

An overview of some pertinent dates in the juridical path of Opus Dei.

28 November 1982: St. John Paul II establishes Opus Dei as a Personal Prelature with the Apostolic Constitution Ut sit.

19 March 2022: Pope Francis reforms the organisation of the Roman Curia with the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium. Article 117 of the constitution changes the dependence of personal prelatures from the Congregation for Bishops to the Dicastery for the Clergy.

14 July 2022: The Holy See publishes Pope Francis’s apostolic letter in the form of a motu proprio ‘Ad charisma tuendum.’ The letter states, among other things, that “the proper Statutes of the Prelature of Opus Dei shall be suitably adapted upon the proposal of the Prelature itself, to be approved by the competent bodies of the Apostolic See” (article 3).

4 August 2022: The motu proprio ‘Ad charisma tuendum’ enters into force.

6 October 2022: In a letter, Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz announces that he will convokes an Extraordinary General Congress of the Prelature “to carry out what the Pope asked of us regarding bringing the Statutes of the Work into line with the motu proprio ‘Ad charisma tuendum.’” He asks for “contributions [from] those who wish to send specific suggestions” to prepare for the “this work of the men and women who will take part in this Congress.”

7 January 2023: The Prelate of Opus Dei announces that the Extraordinary General Congress will take place in Rome from 12 to 16 April 2023.

12-16 April 2023: Celebration of the Extraordinary General Congress in Rome, beginning with Holy Mass on 12 April. From 12 to 16 April, the proposal for redrafting the numbers of the Statutes deemed necessary in light of the request in ‘Ad charisma tuendum’ will be studied and voted on.