On 25 October 2021, the Archdiocese of Guadalajara formally opened the cause of canonization of Arturo Álvarez Ramírez, an associate member of Opus Dei. In 2025, the records of the diocesan process were submitted to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome. Work is currently underway on the preparation of the positio, the next formal step in the cause.

For a year and ten months, beginning in January 2024, thousands of people across Mexico have come to know the life of “Arturo the Engineer” firsthand through the traveling exhibition The Chemistry of Teaching.

^{A poster for an exhibition in April 2025, in Monterrey, Nuevo León}

The exhibition is not merely a collection of personal objects or a recreation of spaces: it is a journey back in time. From Guadalajara to San Luis Potosí—passing through Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Saltillo, Torreón, Monterrey, and other cities—it has visited 19 cities, covering 5,296 kilometers and welcoming 29,123 visitors. At each stop, a laboratory and a university classroom were recreated, complete with flasks, test tubes, a wall clock, a blackboard, and the white lab coat Prof. Arturo used to wear.

Photo gallery

Visitors are often surprised to discover how a university professor born in Ciudad Guzmán in 1935, the son of a bricklayer and a homemaker, went so far and transformed so many lives. The exhibition includes family photographs, letters of gratitude, his passport, students’ grades, and even an image of the only girlfriend he ever had, before responding to God’s call to live apostolic celibacy as an associate member of Opus Dei.

“Arturo the Engineer” did not limit himself to teaching chemical formulas. He opened the door to his office (nicknamed “the confessional”) to listen to personal problems, guide his students, and offer comfort. His classes were demanding, but always taught with genuine affection and care for each student.

Throughout the exhibition tour, events highlighting Arturo Álvarez’s heroic and exemplary life were held in each city. As Msgr. Mariano Fazio, Auxiliary Vicar of Opus Dei, summed it up: “He didn’t do spectacular things; rather, in the normal life of a university professor, he left the mark of the Christian spirit.” This “radiant normality” has moved thousands of visitors, including those encountering him for the first time and who do not share his faith.

^{Msgr. Mariano Fazio, in the Universidad Panamericana.}

So far, more than 29,000 people have visited The Chemistry of Teaching. Parents, students, and workers pause before display cases that illustrate moments in his life: an exam corrected in red ink, a portrait on a bicycle one Sunday, a letter from a sick student thanking him for a visit. Each piece is a window into the heart of a man who understood his work as a path to holiness.

The canonization process continues: after the diocesan phase in Guadalajara, the documentation arrived in Rome, where testimonies and favors attributed to his intercession are being studied. Meanwhile, the exhibition allows many young people to discover a unique example. “It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this,” one visitor wrote in the exhibition guestbook. On social media, photos and messages echo the experience: “I want to be a teacher like him,” and, “He reminded me that you can teach with joy and faith.”

As visitors once again walk through Arturo’s laboratory and classroom, the life of this teacher becomes present in every display case, every testimony, and above all, in every person. As one of his students said, “A teacher doesn’t just impart knowledge; he gives something of himself. ‘Arturo the Engineer’ taught us science, but also a path to holiness.”

Thirty years after his passing, now that his cause of canonization has been opened, it is clear that the true chemistry of teaching was not found in laboratory compounds, but in the simple and powerful formula of living everyday life with faith. His example remains alive, teaching that greatness is found in daily gestures and in sincere care for others.

This first tour of the traveling museum The Chemistry of Teaching concluded with a closing ceremony in Classroom 17 of the University of Guadalajara building, where Arturo taught for more than 30 years.

Prayer for Arturo Álvarez’s intercession

Almighty God, who granted your servant Arturo, engineer and university professor, the grace of being a generous instrument in serving his neighbours and helping colleagues and students to discover the greatness of Christian life; I ask that I too, like him, may be a faithful child of yours through the exercise of my professional work, and encourage many souls, with my example and words, to lovingly fulfil your Holy Will.

Deign to glorify your servant Arturo and grant me, through his intercession, the favour that I ask... (make your request). Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.