Record of the Ceremony
In nomine Domini. Amen. Romae, die 27 ianuarii anni a rep. sal. 2017, hora 10 ac dimidia ante meridiem, Rev.mus Dominus Ferdinandus Ocáriz Braña, Dei et Apostolic. Sedis gratia Praelatus Operis Dei, sollemnem ingressum fecit in suam ecclesiam praelatitiam Sanct. Mari. de Pace. Postquam coram tabernaculo oravit in sacello Sanctissimi Sacramenti et sepulcra veneratus fuit dilectissimorum suorum praedecessorum Beati Alvari del Portillo et Exc.mi ac Rev.mi Domini Xaverii Echevarría, Episcoporum, Praelatus deosculatus est Crucifixi imaginem quam ei obtulit Rev.mus Dominus Gulielmus Derville, qui deinde aspersorium aquæ benedict. ei praebuit, qua aspersit clerum et reliquos fideles in ecclesia adstantes.
Deinde, indutis sacris vestibus in secretario, Sacrosanctum Missae Sacrificium concelebravit cum Rev.mis Dominis Mariano Fazio, Vicario generali, Antonio Pujals, Gulielmo Derville, Ignatio Celaya, Iosepho Xaverio Marcos et Iosepho Andrea Carvajal.
Post venerationem altaris, sub quo conditum est sacrum corpus Sancti Iosephmaría. Escrivá, Fundatoris Operis Dei, Rev.mus Dominus Marianus Fazio verba salutationis dixit, exprimens omnium desiderium vitam agendi fidelissime iuxta spiritum a Sancto Conditore nostro traditum, unum effecti cum Patre ac Pr.lato, prout exemplo suo docuerunt Beatus Alvarus del Portillo atque dilectissimus Xaverius Echevarría, eius pr.decessores, in Ecclesiae sanctae servitium atque in arcta unione cum Romano Pontifice et Episcopis communionem cum ipso servantes.
Adstantes omnes, singillatim, Praelati manum osculati sunt (cfr. S. Ioannes Paulus II, Adhort. ap. post-synodalis Pastores gregis, n. 7).
Missa celebrata est actionis gratiarum. Post lectum Sanctum Evangelium, Pr.latus homiliam fecit, in cuius initio verba Salomonis Regis recoluit qu. in prima lectione Miss. exstant: Benedictus Dominus qui dedit requiem populo suo (1 Reg 8,56). Haec verba, commentatus est Pr.latus, apte adhiberi possunt ad gratias Deo agendas propter pacem qu. exoritur ex unitate Operis, qu. pax a Deo confertur qu.que, ut Sanctus Paulus asserit, ipse est Christus: Ipse est enim pax nostra (Eph. 2,14), sed ab unoquoque nostrum etiam pendet, pro mensura qua cum Iesu Christo coniungimur.
Fons est pacis scire nos filios Dei esse, ut Sanctus Paulus ait in lectione altera: Elegit nos in Ipso (Eph 1,4). Filiatio divina est fundamentum spiritus Operis Dei et possibile efficit ut eius fideles sint semper seminatores pacis et gaudii, ut aiebat Sanctus Iosephmaría Escrivá de Balaguer.
Dein Praelatus locutus est circa figuram Patris in Praelatura. Virtutes recolens a Sancto Iosephmaria in Statutis enumeratas atque in cathedra huius ecclesi. praelatiti. incisas, mentionem fecit prudenti., pietatis atque amoris erga Ecclesiam et Romanum Pontificem. In mentem revocans unam ex tribus iaculatoriis precibus quae aliquo modo complectuntur spiritum Operis Dei, fideles impulit ad orandum ut impensius semper ad actum deducatur Sancti Iosephmaría lemma: Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam!
Praelatus asseruit plene conscium se esse debere se filias filiosque suos diligere, quapropter orationem postulavit quoque ut Dominus corda Patris omniumque pr.latur. fidelium dilatet sicque adimpleatur desiderium adeo frequenter expressum a carissimo Xaverio, eius praedecessore: Ut diligatis invicem, ut diligatis invicem!, qui amor per Iesu Christi Cor transire semper debet.
Cuncta haec desideria Pater in manibus posuit Beatissimae Virginis, Matris Ecclesiae et Operis Dei Reginae, ut nova haec pagina nostrae historiae Dei misericordiarum historia esse pergat.
In fine Missae, Praelatus benedictionem apostolicam impertivit.
Ita est. Testor ac fidem facio. Laus Deo.
Apud ecclesiam praelatitiam Sanctae Mariae de Pace, die, mense et anno ut supra
Iosephus Andreas Carvajal
Curiae praelatitie Cancellarius
The following is a translation of the Latin document:
In nomine Domini. Amen. In Rome, on the 27th of January, 2017 at 10:30 in the morning, the Rev. Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz, thanks to God and the Apostolic See Prelate of Opus Dei, made his solemn entrance into his prelatic church of Our Lady of Peace. After praying before the tabernacle in the chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament and venerating the remains of his beloved predecessors —Blessed Alvaro del Portillo and Javier Echevarría, bishops— the Most Reverend Prelate kissed the crucifix presented to him by Rev. Msgr. Guillaume Derville and received the “aspersorium” (holy water container and sprinkler), with which he sprinkled the clergy and faithful who filled the church.
He then proceeded to the sacristy where he vested himself for the Holy Mass that he concelebrated with Rev. Mariano Fazio, Vicar General, and with the priests Antonio Pujals, Guillaume Derville, Ignacio Celaya, José Javier Marcos, and José Andrés Cavajal.
After venerating the altar, beneath which reposes the body of St. Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei, he listened to the words of greeting of Msgr. Mariano Fazio, who recalled the desires that we all have to be very faithful in living the spirit of our founder, united to the Father, following the example left to us by his predecessors, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo and Bishop Javier Echevarría, in order to serve the Church in close union with the Pope and the bishops in communion with him.
All of those present went up one by one to kiss the hand of the Prelate (see St. John Paul II, Post-synodal Apostolic exhort. Pastores gregis, no. 7).
The Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated. After the reading of the Holy Gospel, the Prelate gave the homily.
Basing himself on the first reading, he cited some words of King Solomon included in the first book of Kings: “Benedictus Dominus qui dedit requiem populi suo” (Blessed be God who gave peace to his people) (1 Kings 8:56). He said that these words could well be applied to giving thanks to God for the peace which the unity of the Work gives, a peace granted by God; a peace that, as St. Paul said, is Christ Himself: “Ipse est enim pax nostra,” for he is our peace (Eph 2:14), but which also depends on each of us in the measure that we are more closely united to Christ.
The reality of being God’s children is a source of peace, as St. Paul says in the second reading: “Elegit nos in Ipso” (He chose us in him) (Eph 1:4). Divine filiation is the foundation of the spirit of Opus Dei, and enables its faithful to always be sowers of peace and joy, as St. Josemaría Escrivá said.
The Prelate then considered the figure of the Father in the Prelature. Recalling the virtues stressed by St. Josemaría in the Statutes and engraved on the cathedra of this prelatic church, he spoke about prudence, piety, love for the Church and the Pope. Recalling one of the three aspirations that sum up in a certain way the spirit of Opus Dei, he asked the faithful to pray that the motto of St. Josemaría may be a reality: Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam! (All with Peter to Jesus through Mary!)
The Prelate manifested his deep awareness that he had to love his daughters and sons. He asked them to pray that God would enlarge his heart, and that of everyone, so that the desire his predecessor Don Javier so often expressed may be a reality: May you love one another, may you love one another! A love that has to always pass through the heart of Jesus.
All these intentions have been placed in the hands of our Lady, Mother of the Church and Queen of Opus Dei, so that this new page of the history of the Work may continue being the history of God’s mercies.
At the end of Mass, the Prelate imparted his apostolic blessing.
I am a witness to the truth of all this. Laus Deo.
In the prelatic church of Our Lady of Peace, January 27, 2017
José Andrés Carvajal
Chancellor of the Prelatic Curia
Romana, n. 64, January-June 2017, p. 24-27.