Romana

Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz has set up a working committee to prepare for the centenary of Opus Dei.

In a message published on June 10, the Prelate said that the centennial celebration will run from October 2, 2028 to February 14, 2030, which will mark 100 years since the beginning of Opus Dei’s work with women. It will therefore be a celebration with two dates, as an expression of unity.

The Prelate pointed out in his message that the next seven years will be an “opportunity to renew our desire to serve God, the Church and society as a whole” and “a time of reflection on our identity, our history and our mission.” This preparation invites “each of us to give thanks, to ask for forgiveness, and to make resolutions to improve. We will do so with the approach we learned from St. Josemaria: trying to live the present moment with love, with personal and collective humility, serving in the ordinary.”

Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz added that the preparation for the centenary “will also be a propitious moment to consider the challenges faced by the Church and society and to reflect on how we can better contribute to help solve them. It will be a good time to look to the future and to consider together – you who are youngest will play a fundamental role here – how to bring Opus Dei forward during the next hundred years. It is an opportunity to rejuvenate ourselves, to recognize God’s love in our lives and bring this love to others, especially the most needy.”

The Prelate said that in the coming years the working committee “will dedicate itself above all to listening to the faithful of the Work and many other people. The suggestions they receive will help them to plan better for the celebration.”

Fernanda Lopes (Brasilia, 1986) was appointed chairperson of the committee. She has been a member of the Central Advisory in Rome since September 2020. In an interview published on the Opus Dei website, she gave some details about the work entrusted to her: “This team is an initial committee, and is made up of a small group of seven people – three men and four women, of different ages, countries and backgrounds – who work and reside in Rome. For the moment, we intend to take the first steps along the lines indicated in the Prelate’s recent message,” she explained.

The other members of the initial committee are Juan Manuel Mora, Monica Herrero, Isabel Troconis, Santiago Pérez de Camino, Marta Isabel González and Jaime Cardenas. This committee may be expanded at a later date or new committees may be formed as the work progresses.

Fernanda Lopes also remarked that the committee is planning for the coming years as “a time of listening, reflection and learning” rather than “organizing activities.” They hope that the participation of the faithful of the Work and other people “will be very broad” and that the involvement of young people will be “very active.”

“I feel especially challenged because those of us who have come to the Work in the third millennium know that we are protagonists of this historic moment,” the president of the committee confided.