Canonization Cause of Guadalupe Ortiz

Guadalupe Ortiz was born in Madrid in 1916 on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. One of the first women in Opus Dei, she began its apostolic work with women in Mexico.

Information about the Canonization Cause of Guadalupe Ortiz, one of the first women in Opus Dei, is now available in English on the web page.

Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, presided over the opening of her cause of canonization on November 18th 2001. The study of her life and virtues and a possible miracle attributed to her intercession are now with the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

A brief biography and a prayer for private devoition to the intercession of Guadalupe Ortiz can be found in the Canonization Causes section of the web page.

The journalist Mercedes Eguibar, who knew Guadalupe personally, is the author of her biography. Eguibar defined her as "a pioneer woman in the social promotion of women in rural Mexico." Talking about some of her personal qualities, she said that Guadalupe was "a woman of her times and indeed ahead of her times in many respects. She had a modern mentality leading her to dream of a better future, and at the same time doing what she could to make it happen, through her work and her great spirit of service."

The biography also includes some aspects of the profoundly Christian life of this woman. "Guadalupe’s life passed in a continual relationship with God and thanks to this she knew how to transform difficulties and suffering into joy, even though it was sometimes a joy that had its roots in the form of a cross. Indeed her life was salt and light."

In 1944 Guadalupe met the founder of Opus Dei. Her biography describes this meeting as follows:

"On January 25th 1944, Guadalupe went to her appointment with the founder of Opus Dei, at a small house in a residential part of Madrid, at 19 Jorge Manrique Street.

"She probably didn’t realize it, but that was the first women’s center. It had been started eighteen months before on the feast of our Lady of the Angels, August 2nd, in 1942.

"Guadalupe was probably a bit nervous about the appointment, as she went up the steps to the front door. She was shown into a big reception room with rose upholstered furniture and a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the wall. This picture caught her attention because she had always wanted a good image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and had had to be content with a cutting from a magazine.

"Fr. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer was then still a young-looking priest at the age of forty-two, with an open smile that reflected a deep joy. Somewhat stout owing to his recent contracting of diabetes, he combined very lively words and gestures with a deep inner calm.

"Guadalupe felt so impressed that she quickly opened up her heart and asked: ‘what should I do with my life?’ She always remembered that conversation as the discovery of what she had been seeking. She knew that that priest was going to be for her the father she had lost a few years earlier because, as she often said, in those moments she clearly saw her path in life.

"The priest, nevertheless, left her completely free. He told her that she herself had to make the decision, acting solely for God’s love and with the strength of his grace. At the end of the interview Fr Josemaria invited her to a retreat that was to start a few days later."