Opus Dei

Shiró is happiest spending time with people: “I need people, and feeling that they need me makes me want to give the best of myself. No man is an island... We need each other.” This openness led her to start her studies in healthcare, and later move to hospitality and catering in her country, Kenya. She also started a social initiative to help street children. All these experiences confirmed her vocation to Opus Dei as an assistant numerary.

Biomedical scientist Renata Silvestre describes how her vocation is intertwined with her work in advanced cell therapy, battling cancer while living the spirit of Opus Dei in her daily life. In her story, science and faith are both sources of inspiration and reasons for commitment.

Mónica was born in Cochabamba, in a family that represented "the rainbow of Bolivia," since her father was from La Paz and her mother from Santa Cruz. She studied at the German School and later in Buenos Aires, where she graduated with a degree in Agricultural Engineering from UBA. Subsequently, she studied philosophy and earned a master’s degree in teaching it. She has been involved in development projects and teaching, and tells us that her specialty is "change."

How can we love Christ, a living person we do not see? And how can we love others as He loved us? In both marriage and celibacy, the Holy Spirit transforms our senses to make our hearts more like his.

From her childhood in Curitiba to her commitment to Opus Dei, Ana Cecília has travelled a path of self-discovery. Through medicine and her relationship with God, she found her purpose: to transform lives and fulfil her dream of motherhood by serving others.

I am Eva Burniol, from the Horta neighbourhood in Barcelona, and I am an assistant numerary. I am 34 years old, and I love the mountains, going for runs... It helps me unwind, it relaxes me... I really enjoy nature... I like reading, writing, going out with friends... Everything related to fashion, I don’t know, keeping up with everything. I never seem to have enough time!

Mariana, originally from Salta (Argentina), studied Social Communication and has worked as a photographer, although she currently works as a gardener. For her, her professional work is a space in which she can meet God in every situation. She also takes care of her mother, who has been bedridden since suffering a stroke two years ago.

María José is a lawyer who lives with her husband and son in Madrid. Since the return of the Taliban regime to Afghanistan in August 2021, she has been helping women from that country to find asylum in Spain. There were only a few of them at the beginning, but now they've formed a network that supports 110 families. "Prayer helps me understand the things that happen and God's calls," she says. Her faith inspires her commitment to improving the world around her through her work.

Tiago is from Porto, works as a mechanical engineer, and loves car competitions. At the age of 20, he lost his grandfather, which let him to start questioning many aspects of his life. A friend, who passed away in an accident that same summer, told him about Opus Dei. Discovering prayer was the beginning of a path that led him to discern his vocation to the Work as a numerary.

Sandra had no faith when she first set foot in a centre run by the Work, invited by a friend. Now, fifteen years later, she is an associate and she tells the story of her encounter with God, in whom she discovered the experience of paternity.