Romana

On March 10, Bishop José Manuel Lorca Planes, of Cartagena, Spain, blessed a sculpture of the founder of Opus Dei, destined for the church of Our Lady of Grace, in the same city. The ceremony took place in the context of a Eucharistic concelebration with Fr. Jorge Nava Rodríguez, vicar of the Delegation of Opus Dei in Valencia and Murcia. The bronze, life-sized statue was the work of the artist Rebeca Muñoz Carrilero.

Reredos for an altar in Livorno

On March 25, a triptych was inaugurated in the church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the Italian community of Livorno. The central portion dedicated to Our Lady is flanked by two scenes of adoration that represent St. Josemaría and Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, together with Blessed Pio Alberto del Corona and the Venerable Giovanni Batista Quilici, priests from that locality. The work was carried out by two artists, Elisabetta Carini and Sofia Novelli, from the School of Sacred Art in Florence.

A bas-relief in the Shrine of Sonsoles

On June 22, Bishop Jesús García Burillo, of Avila, Spain, blessed a bas-relief in bronze of St. Josemaría installed in the Shrine of Our Lady of Sonsoles. The work of the sculptor Rebecca Muñoz, it represents the founder of Opus Dei praying before Our Lady of Sonsoles, recalling a Marian pilgrimage by St. Josemaría to that shrine on May 2, 1935.

An organ composition for the Mass of St. Josemaría

Miguel del Barco, professor emeritus at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, composed a Mass for organ and four mixed voices with the texts proper to the feast of St. Josemaría and a Gregorian chant typical of the early twentieth century. It premiered on July 26 in the Basilica of St. Michael in Madrid.