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Volume 12 of Studia et Documenta

The Saint Josemaría Escrivá Historical Institute published volume 12 of the journal Studia et Documenta. The volume opens with a study by Constantine Ánchel on the priests who spiritually accompanied Saint Josemaría Escrivá until June 1944, when Blessed Alvaro del Portillo became his confessor and spiritual director.

Another study, signed by Jesús Gil Sáenz, describes the 2,500 books in St. Josemaría’s personal library. The author reconstructs the genesis of this collection, which began to take shape in 1937. These are books that the founder of Opus Dei used for his study, personal work and spiritual reading.

The Studies and Notes section includes five articles. In the first, Inmaculada Alva gives an overview of the apostolic work of Opus Dei with women from the end of the Spanish Civil War up to 1942, based on letters, diaries and testimonies of the protagonists. In the second article, Onésimo Díaz writes about the Jenner Residence, begun by Saint Josemaría Escrivá in post-war Madrid, and focuses on the human and Christian formation offered to its residents. Another article, by Luis Cano, gives a brief overview of the first workshop for supernumeraries of Opus Dei that was held in 1948 in Molinoviejo (Segovia, Spain). Fifteen people attended, to whom St. Josemaría explained in detail what the life of a supernumerary in Opus Dei entails. The notes and testimonies of some of those present provide valuable information in this regard. In the fourth article, Francisca Colomer focuses on Ramona Sanjurjo, a supernumerary of Opus Dei since 1948 who, from her native Vigo, assisted the development of the apostolic works of Opus Dei in Galicia and Portugal. The last article, by Federico Requena, deals with the apostolic work of Fr. William Porras, chaplain of Harvard University from 1954 to 1960.

In the Documents section, Alfredo Méndiz comments on the correspondence between Salvador Canals and St. Josemaría Escrivá in the years 1948 and 1949.

The News section briefly presents the origin and development of the Josemaría Escrivá Virtual Library, an online platform created by the Josemaría Escrivá Documentation and Studies Center, which disseminates academic works on Opus Dei, its founder and successors, members and some apostolic initiatives.

The Bibliographic section closes the volume. It presents details of fourteen recent publications, as well as an extensive list of works on Opus Dei and various apostolic initiatives promoted by its members, published between 2010 and 2013.

Romana, n. 66, January-June 2018, p. 164.

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