"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.”
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.
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.
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.
The prelature is governed by a Prelate, in accordance with canon law and the specific statutes of Opus Dei. Its headquarters are in Rome.
What is a personal prelature?
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.
From its foundation on October 2, 1928, Opus Dei was already in essence, although in an embryonic state, the same as we see it today: a part of the Church, made up of faithful and structured hierarchically around a head who was at first the founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá, a priest.
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.
Naturally this vocational requirement is not essential to personal prelatures, which could be based on very diverse circumstances, usually linked to social bonds among its faithful.
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.
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.
An article by Guillaume Derville on why the faithful in the Prelature of Opus Dei call the prelate "Father."
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.
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 prelate of Opus Dei and the prelature itself depend on the Holy See: on the Roman Pontiff and the Congregation for the Clergy.
Although similar personal hierarchical structures already existed (such as military vicariates), the juridical figure of the personal prelature is the result of an apostolic desire of the Second Vatican Council that later took form in the present Code of Canon Law. The first to be erected was the prelature of Opus Dei, in the Apostolic Constitution Ut sit of John Paul II, on November 28, 1982.
One should keep in mind that all ecclesial realities share in the life and purpose of the one Church. Therefore, all are called to live in the same ecclesial communion and to foster mutual affection.
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?
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.
This article lists the current circumscriptions of Opus Dei, which include about seventy countries in which the Prelature is present.
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.
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.
The work and entire life of the members of Opus Dei, to the extent to which they are loyal to their vocation, constitutes a part of the spiritual and apostolic good of the diocese.
The mission of the prelature of Opus Dei is the same salvific mission as that of the whole Church, carried out in conformity with a specific charism of sanctification and apostolate in professional work and in the context of ordinary life.
Incorporation in the prelature of Opus Dei is essentially united to the personal vocation of that individual.
