Opus Dei

The Josemaría Escrivá Research Center (CEJE), which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in October, is entering a period of expansion and renewal. Founded in the 1990s as a bibliographic repository on Josemaría Escrivá and Opus Dei, it now combines documentation, research, and outreach with an increasingly international scope.

On 14 February, St Josemaría understood that God was also calling women and priests to be and to do Opus Dei. Some resources to celebrate the double anniversary of the foundation of the women's branch of Opus Dei (14 February 1930) and the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross (14 February 1943).

The historian Inmaculada Alva shares her insight into the life of Spanish scientist Piedad de la Cierva, a pioneer of the 20th century. Through her research, Alva highlights De la Cierva’s remarkable contributions to science and her determination to forge a path in a predominantly male environment.

If you’re reading this, then in a way, that trail that St. Josemaría blazed a century ago has reached you too. But this is just the beginning of the story...

It was college students, crowding around the tables in the back of a small cafe in Madrid, who clicked with the message St. Josemaría was trying to share the most.

St. Josemaría saw the archangel St. Raphael as a guide for young people who are launching out on their own path in the world.

"We're called to be sowers of peace and joy," St. Josemaria reminded the first St. Raphael boys. That's what the formation Opus Dei offers is meant for.

The first students who took part in Opus Dei's work with young people didn't feel like they were adding one more good thing to their to-do lists: they felt like main characters in the story, and they wanted to blaze a trail. And we'll always need trailblazers.

We're all called to be holy, but what does that mean, exactly? In this video, Saint Josemaria explains the call in his own words.

The founder of Opus Dei speaking to young people in a gathering in Brazil in 1974.