Devotion throughout the world
A plaza in Fondachelli Fantina
On May 17, the small community of Fondachelli Fantina, in the Italian province of Messina, dedicated a plaza to St. Josemaría. The ceremony began with the Eucharistic celebration in the Church of the Holy Guardian Angels. Following this, in the plaza, the mayor and Rev. Bruno Paudula unveiled a relief of the saint, carved on a stone plaque, which was blessed in the same ceremony.
A high relief sculpture in Saragossa
The church of Our Lady of Cogullada, in Saragossa, has a new sculpture of St. Josemaría in one of the side chapels. A bronze sculpture in high relief, it was blessed on February 22 in a ceremony presided over by the Vicar of the Delegation of Opus Dei in Saragossa. St. Josemaría celebrated Mass in that church on the 25th and 26th of January in 1958.
The southernmost image of St. Josemaría in the world
This past April 4, an image of St. Josemaría was installed in the parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, in Rio Grande, a municipality of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, in Argentina.
During the homily at the Mass, with many families present, St. John Paul II’s words on October 6, 2002, the day of the canonization, were cited, encouraging the multitude of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to spread the call to holiness in the midst of the world among people of all walks of life.
Two roads with his name
Viseu
Located in the geographical center of Portugal, Viseu is a small city of 60,000 inhabitants, where devotion to St. Josemaría is wide-spread. The founder of Opus Dei visited this city on several occasions and, in gratitude, the city council decided to put his name on a new road: the Avenida São Josemaria. The street is in a newly urbanized area and connects two residential neighborhoods.
Casanova
On Sunday, April 27, the city of Casanova in Reggie Calabria, Italy, inaugurated a new road dedicated to St. Josemaría, in a ceremony presided over by the city mayor, Alessandro Cannatà, and by Dr. Antonio Monteleone.
The splendor of the divine in the ordinary
On Sunday, May 11, the Italian TV channel Rete 4 presented a documentary dedicated to the founder of Opus Dei. It is directed by Marco Palmisano and has commentary provided by Father Antonio Sicari. With this presentation, the television network closed a series of fourteen chapters devoted to saints in a series entitled “The saints: the splendor of the divine in the ordinary.”
In the cathedral of Puebla
On February 23, after celebrating Sunday Mass, Archbishop Victor Sanchez of Puebla, Mexico, presided at the installation of a painting of St. Josemaría in the cathedral’s chapel of the Most Sweet Heart of Mary. Taking part in the ceremony were Msgr. Francisco Ugarte, regional vicar of Opus Dei, various concelebrating priests, Martha Orozco, the artist who did the painting, and numerous parishioners.
Romana, n. 58, January-June 2014, p. 81-82.