Posted by At 9.15 am today, Pope Francis welcomed Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, Prelate of Opus Dei, accompanied by the Auxiliary Vicar, Monsignor Mariano Fazio.
Pope Francis Receives the Prelate in Audience – Opus Dei
11/29/2021
During the audience, which lasted about thirty minutes, the Prelate and the Auxiliary Vicar informed the Holy Father about the apostolic work of the Prelature’s faithful in various countries. Special stress was given to the process of simplifying organizational structures in order to better spur forward and coordinate the apostolic undertakings. The Pope was delighted to hear this and remarked: “It is important that everyone is out on the street, doing apostolate.”
The Pope expressed his desire that the faithful of Opus Dei be faithful to the founding spirit, while at the same time adapting to the challenges that today’s culture presents to Christian life. He also encouraged them to spread a love for the truth throughout the world, in order to confront the superficiality and lack of justice that reigns in social relations.
As in the audiences of previous years, Pope Francis imparted his blessing and expressed his thanks for the apostolic efforts of the Prelature in service to the Church.
The Prelate gave the Holy Father two books in Chinese on Saint Joseph, produced by two faithful of the Prelature. The Holy Father presented them with two books on the special “Statio Orbis” on 27 March 2020.
CWN Editor’s Note: The Prelate of Opus Dei and his auxiliary vicar met with Pope Francis for 30 minutes on November 29. The meeting came weeks after 42 Argentine and Paraguayan women, claiming labor exploitation, lodged a complaint with the Vatican.
Opus Dei, which was founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in 1928, stated in a press release that “the Pope expressed his desire that the faithful of Opus Dei be faithful to the founding spirit, while at the same time adapting to the challenges that today’s culture presents to Christian life.”
The current prelate, Father Fernando Ocáriz, has held that position since 2017. Pope Francis has not ordained him a bishop—in contrast to Pope St. John Paul II, who ordained the previous two Opus Dei prelates to the episcopate.The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.