Romana

The Istituto Storico San Josemaría Escrivá has published volume 14 (2020) of the journal Studia et Documenta. It contains a thematic section with nine articles about the development of Opus Dei in the decade from 1940 to 1950, and is a continuation of an article published in volume 3 (2009), dedicated to Opus Dei’s spread in Madrid in the 1930s.

The first of these nine articles, by Julio Montero-Díaz, describes the political, social, religious and cultural context in Spain at that time, where most of Opus Dei’s apostolic work took place during this decade. In the second article, Francesc Castells and José Luis González Gullón look at the development of the main characteristics of Opus Dei’s government, during a period when it went from lacking official ecclesiastical approval to definitive approval by the Holy See as a secular institute. In the third and fourth articles, Inmaculada Alva and Mercedes Montero present the beginning of Opus Dei’s activity with women from 1942 to 1945, as well as the human, spiritual, doctrinal-religious, apostolic and professional formation they received between 1945 and 1950.

In the fifth article, Santiago Casas writes about the Study Weeks that were organized in 1940, a special moment of formation in the spirit of Opus Dei that sought to increase fraternity among all the members and to prepare for the apostolic expansion in Spain. In the sixth, Constantino Ánchel and José Luis Illanes detail the juridical path that allowed for the incardination of the first priests in Opus Dei, as well as the steps taken so that diocesan priests could belong to the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. Next, Santiago Martínez describes the relations of the founder and his co-workers with various Spanish bishops between the end of the Civil War and Escrivá’s first trip to Rome in 1946. Onésimo Díaz, in turn, looks at the competitive examinations for professorships held by members of Opus Dei, who obtained positions at Spanish universities between 1939 and 1951. Finally, the section closes with an article by Federico M. Requena and Fernando Crovetto on the international expansion of Opus Dei, including an overview of the members of Opus Dei who carried it out.

In the Documenti section, Enrique de la Lama and Alfredo Méndiz present the correspondence (1935-1972) between St. Josemaría and Archbishop Marcelino Olaechea, Archbishop of Pamplona and Valencia, preserved in the General Archives of the Prelature of Opus Dei and in the archives of the Cathedral of Valencia. Next, Monica Fuster examines the relationship between St. Josemaría and Cardinal Federico Tedeschini, especially after 1951, when the latter was named protector of Opus Dei.

TheNews section briefly presents the existing publications and documents on Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri, the first lay person of the Work to be beatified: ecclesiastical documents, biographies, documentaries, pamphlets, dictionary entries, and other publications in which reference is made to Guadalupe Ortiz.

TheBibliographic section closes the journal with reviews of 5 works and 5 bibliographic files.