Publication of Posguerra, la Primera Expansion del Opus Dei Durante los Anos 1939 y 1940 [Postwar: the First Expansion of Opus Dei During the Years 1939 and 1940]
Onésimo Díaz, professor at the University of Navarra, has published Posguerra, la primera expansión del Opus Dei durante los años 1939 y 1940 [Post-War. The first expansion of Opus Dei during the years 1939 and 1940]. The book, published by Rialp, focuses on two intense years in the life of the institution founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá. Daily life in the student residence on Jenner Street in Madrid and the first apostolic trips to other cities in Spain are the main topics, presented in the context of the Spanish post-war period (especially with regard to politics, the university, and religion) and the Second World War.
The narrative presents important figures in Opus Dei’s history, including Alvaro del Portillo, Pedro Casciaro, José Luis Múzquiz, and José María Hernández Garnica, as well as other university students such as Alberto Ullastres, Rafael Termes, Jose Maria Albareda and Rafael Calvo Serer.
The author has carried out his research in a number of different archives: the General Archive of the Opus Dei Prelature in Rome; the General Archive of the Administration (Alcalá de Henares); the Archive of the Royal Palace in Madrid and the General Archive of the University of Navarra. The book includes photographs, a map, and an index of names.
Onésimo Díaz, who holds a doctorate in contemporary history from the University of the Basque Country and a doctorate in the history of the Church from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, is a researcher at the Center for Documentation and Studies on Josemaría Escrivá at the University of Navarra, and has written twelve books and more than thirty articles on contemporary history.
Romana, n. 67, July-December 2018, p. 304.