POPE TO BLESS STATUE OF OPUS DEI FOUNDER
ANSA English Media Service
September 13, 2005
Vatican City
(ANSA) – Vatican City, September 12 – Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday
will bless a statue of the founder of Opus Dei, highlighting
the conservative Catholic movement’s ever higher standing in the
contemporary Church.
A five-metre likeness of Saint Josemaria Escriva, made of white
Carrara marble, was recently installed in a niche on the southern
outside wall of St Peter’s Basilica.
The statue stands alongside other great saints and founders of
religious orders, such as Saint Gregory, founder of the Armenian
church, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Brigid of Sweden.
It will be the first new statue at St Peter’s to be blessed by
Benedict XVI, who will perform the official unveiling after the general
audience. A 80-strong choir will be on hand to accompany the event.
The act will set the seal on the Catholic Church’s full acceptance
of the movement which it had initially distrusted.
Between 1967 and 1973, when Opus Dei already numbered 40,000 Catholics,
Pope Paul VI refused even to meet Escriva, wanting to draw a clear
line between himself and the regime of General Franco in Spain.
The Spanish-born priest was frequently accused of supporting
Franco although supporters say he had no choice but to accept the
regime. Three members of the group held positions in the Franco
government.
Opus Dei is founded on the belief that Catholics could and should
strive for saintliness through work, regardless of what their job
is. It stresses that it is not necessary to be a priest or a nun.
It is a highly influential organisation which has members in top
positions both in the Catholic Church and in secular society. Many
members are high-flyers in business and politics, especially in
the Americas.
Opus Dei, which John Paul II brought under his personal control in
1983, says it has 84,000 members in scores of countries. The Spanish
cleric who founded the movement in 1928 was canonised by the Polish
pontiff in 2002.
St Peter’s Basilica already boasts about 400 statues of saints on,
in or around it. On the roof of the 16th-century building there are
huge figures of Christ, John the Baptist and 11 of the apostles.
There are 140 more statues spread over the colonnade which surrounds
the piazza in front of the basilica.
But with two sides each measuring 186 metres and a facade of almost 100
metres long, not to mention the inside area of 21,000 square metres,
there is always room for more.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress