Romana

The Sixth International St. Josemaría Symposium, with the motto “Work as Service,” was held in the Jaén Exhibition Center, from November 16 to 17. Over five hundred people attended. The gathering could also be followed directly through the Internet.

In the inaugural ceremony, after a greeting from the mayor of Jaén, Jose Enrique Fernandez de Moya, the economist Antonio Argandoña, a professor at IESE in Barcelona, gave the first address. He reflected on the ethical background of the present economic crisis, showing its relationship to a society that values above all individualism, consumerism and relativism, and that has turned economic and political problems into merely technical questions.

A key concern of the symposium was how to reconcile one’s family and working life. María Calvo, titular professor at the Carlos III University, presented an address on this topic that was followed with great interest.

Round-tables featured people working in various fields, including a television actress, a cleaning woman, a movie producer, a bull fighter, a nurse, an athlete, etc. They described their experiences in trying to make their work a service to others in the light of St. Josemaría’s teachings. The closing presentation was by the theologian Fr. Pedro Rodriguez, a professor at the University of Navarra.

The symposium was organized by the Catalina Mir Foundation.