Romana

From June 28 to July 1, a congress on Blessed Josemaria was held at Austral University in Buenos Aires, with over two thousand people taking part. The sixty papers presented at the congress covered various aspects of the life, writings and spirit of the founder of Opus Dei, in preparation for the centennial of his birth on January 9, 2002.

The inaugural session opened with the reading of a message from the Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría. Present at the ceremony was the Apostolic Nuncio to Argentina, Bishop Santos Abril, and a large group of civil and religious authorities.

The three-days congress dealt with a wide range of fields in which the founder of Opus Dei’s message has had special impact, including the world of communications and bioethics.

Among the participants were the theologian Pedro Rodríguez; Rabbi Angel Kreiman; Carlos Alberto Di Franco, editor of the daily newspaper O Estado de São Paulo; the Assistant Dean of the Campus Biomedico University of Rome, Paola Binetti; and Dr. Abel Albino, founder of an institution helping in the fight against child malnutrition. The congress was brought to a close by the rector of the university, Alejandro Consigli.

Work sessions were held on a number of different topics. In one of these sessions, a professional soccer player spoke about the influence of Blessed Josemaria’s teachings on his life.