Romana

Historia del Opus Dei, the First Comprehensive Research Work on this Institution

José Luis González Gullón and John F. Coverdale have published Historia del Opus Dei, an investigation into the history of Opus Dei that has been carried out with access to surviving documentation and numerous oral testimonies. The volume is part of the Collection of Monographs of the Istituto Storico San Josemaría Escrivá.

In its more than 700 pages it presents the history of Opus Dei, from its foundation in 1928 to 2016, a period that covers the time of the founder and his first two successors, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo and Bishop Javier Echevarría. It looks at the beginnings and development of the institution and its charism, its juridical path, the main events in its life, the identity of its members, its successes and limitations, the acceptance of its spirituality among men and women of very diverse conditions all over the world and the evolution of its apostolic initiatives. The book closes with a brief epilogue outlining the main events from 2016 to 2021.

The volume is divided into six major chapters dealing with: the founding and early years (1928-1939); approvals and initial expansion (1939-1950); spread across five continents (1950-1962); consolidation (1962-1975); successors of the founder (1975-1994); and the third generation (1994-2016).

González Gullón, José Luis - Coverdale, John F., Historia del Opus Dei, Madrid, Rialp, 2021, 1st and 2nd eds.

Illustrated Biographical Sketch of the Venerable Isidoro Zorzano

Isidoro 100% is an illustrated biographical sketch of Venerable Isidoro Zorzano, by Enrique Muñiz. It can be purchased in bookstores and the online version can be downloaded free of charge. It is a very approachable book, with many photographs (in the paper version), which allows today’s readers to get to know the figure of Isidoro and his example of seeking holiness in ordinary life. The author selects the most significant of the 259 testimonies collected after his death.

Isidoro, a companion of St. Josemaría when they were both high school students in Logroño, was a person of special trust and help for the founder in the beginnings of the Work, and the first to persevere in his vocation to Opus Dei, which the founder presented to him personally in 1930.