Romana

Fifty years ago, on October 31, 1956, Fr. Juan Bautista Torelló arrived in Zürich from Italy accompanied by Pedro Turull, an architect, thus beginning the apostolic work of the Prelature in that city. Fr. Torello now lives in Vienna where he has been Rector of the Peterskirche for many years, while Pedro Turull, who was ordained in 1968, now carries out pastoral work in Rome. In honor of this anniversary, solemn Masses of thanksgiving were celebrated in Zürich and in Geneva.

In the Church of Our Lady (the Liebfrauenkirche) in Zürich, on October 2, the principal celebrant was Bishop Paul Vollmar, auxiliary bishop of Chur and Vicar General of Zürich, who was accompanied by the Regional Vicar of the Prelature, Msgr. Peter Rutz, and six other priests.

On October 6, Bishop Bernard Genoud of the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, celebrated a solemn Mass in the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Geneve. Concelebrating with him were the Regional Vicar of the Prelature in Switzerland and Fr. Pierre Jaquet, pastor of the Basilica. The Bishop referred to his friendship with the Regional Vicar right from the days when both of them were teaching at St. Michael’s high school in Fribourg—a friendship, he said, that extends to all of Opus Dei and in particular to the faithful of the Prelature who work in his diocese. In his homily he also offered a deep reflection on the sanctification of the world and temporal realities, reading citations from St. Josemaría alongside others from Pascal and Cardinal Journet.