"It is in the simplicity of your ordinary work, in the monotonous details of each day, that you have to find the secret, which is hidden from so many, of something great and new: Love.” Saint Josemaría
"It is in the simplicity of your ordinary work, in the monotonous details of each day, that you have to find the secret, which is hidden from so many, of something great and new: Love.”
Jorge Gisbert was born in Alcoy, Alicante (Spain) in 1969. He was ordained a priest in 2004. He was Central Vicar Secretary of Opus Dei from 2019 to 2025.
Fr. Javier del Castillo, an American priest, was born in Mexico in 1975 and grew up in various cities in Mexico and the United States. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 2005. He has been the Vicar General of the Prelature of Opus Dei since April 2025.
Protocol of the Opus Dei Prelature
On 28 November 1982, St. John Paul II erected Opus Dei as a personal prelature by means of the Apostolic Constitution “Ut sit.” Here are some videos and texts on its juridical structure and apostolic mission.
Auxiliary Vicar of Opus Dei since 2019, Mariano Fazio was born in Buenos Aires on April 25, 1960. He has been rector of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and was an invited expert at the Latin American Bishops Conference in Aparecida, Brazil, in 2007.
The prelature is governed by a Prelate, in accordance with canon law and the specific statutes of Opus Dei. Its headquarters are in Rome.
Opus Dei's work of spiritual formation complements the work of local churches. People who join Opus Dei or attend its activities continue to belong to their local dioceses.
Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz is a theologian and is also the Vicar General of Opus Dei. This Zenit interview was held on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Opus Dei as a personal prelature.
In 1982, with the Apostolic Constitution, "Ut sit," John Paul II erected Opus Dei as a personal prelature. The following video records the first Prelate, Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo, receiving the bull "Ut sit" in the Basilica of Saint Eugene in Rome.
Incorporation in the prelature of Opus Dei is essentially united to the personal vocation of that individual.
M. Julia Prats was born in Terrassa (Spain) in 1964. She is an industrial engineer, with a doctorate in Business Administration, and a professor specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation. She has been Central Secretary of Opus Dei since April 2025.
Rev. Antoni Pujals i Ginebreda was born in Terrassa, Spain, in 1955. Ordained a priest in Rome in 1985, he was the Vicar General of the Prelature from 2019 to 2025.
This Safeguarding Policy for the investigation of allegations of abuse of minors or vulnerable adults in the activities of the Prelature of Opus Dei applies to the countries in the Region of North West Europe.
The Statutes of Opus Dei were promulgated by Pope St John Paul II in 1982. Written in Latin, they define precisely the juridical configuration of the Prelature, its organization, and its aims.
The Prelature of Opus Dei in Britain is committed to promoting the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable adults in accordance with the current standards set out for the Catholic Church in England and Wales and in Scotland by the respective Bishops’ Conferences.
An article by Guillaume Derville on why the faithful in the Prelature of Opus Dei call the prelate "Father."
What is a personal prelature?
On March 19, 1983 in Rome, the handing over of the Bull “Ut Sit” took place. This document from John Paul II erected Opus Dei as a personal prelature. Opus Dei’s only purpose, as the Founder said, “is to serve the Church".
The only personal prelature currently existing is Opus Dei. The fact that others have not yet been erected is due to the newness of personal prelatures, which have to offer guarantees of ecclesial solidity and be harmoniously inserted into the dioceses in which they operate. Besides, there are other ecclesiastical circumscriptions, such as the military ordinariates, with the same type of configuration, that is to say, one that is both personal and that complements the dioceses.
Msgr. José Andrés Carvajal was born in Murcia (Spain) in 1970. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1999. He has been Central Secretary Vicar of the Prelature of Opus Dei since April 2025.
This article lists the current circumscriptions of Opus Dei, which include about seventy countries in which the Prelature is present.
Following the publication of Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio Vos estis lux mundi (2019), Opus Dei’s Prelate, Mgr. Fernando Ocariz, issued guidelines for the whole Prelature regarding Safeguarding: Prelature Guidelines for Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Persons (2020).
The English translation of the apostolic constitution, Ut sit, by which Opus Dei was established as the Catholic Church's first personal prelature.
People join, remain in, and leave Opus Dei freely
From a legal standpoint, Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church. Prelatures are entrusted with undertaking certain pastoral activities.
Opus Dei was born in the Church and exists in the Church to serve the Church. In this year marking the 25th anniversary of the Work’s being erected as a personal prelature, we offer an article explaining the relevance of this event.
A new edition of the short book, The Juridical Mind of St. Josemaria Escriva, by canon law professor, Ernest Caparros has been published on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Opus Dei becoming a personal prelature.
At the institutional level, what is Opus Dei’s relationship with the dioceses? Is its pastoral work carried out in accord with religious institutions and other ecclesial entities?
Both belong equally to the prelature.
