Romana

In Plasencia (Extremadura, Spain), during a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Javier Yániz, Vicar of the Delegation of the Prelature of Opus Dei for Western Andalusia and Extremadura, a painting of St. Josemaría by the Sevillian painter Ignacio Valdés was blessed in the parish of El Salvador on October 6. Javier Yániz concelebrated with four other priests: the parish priest, Fr. Juan Luis García Díaz, Fr. Diego Zambrana, Vicar General of the Diocese of Cáceres, Fr. Javier Bel and Fr. Carlos Peña. Two days earlier, the priest and historian Constantino Ánchel had given a talk on the circumstances of St. Josemaría’s trip to Plasencia in 1934. The event opened with a corporate greeting from the mayor of the town, Fernando Pizarro, and was moderated by journalist Rafael Angulo.

On October 26, the Brotherhood of the Prayer in the Garden and Our Lady of the Incarnation of Sanlúcar la Mayor (Seville) blessed its new polychrome image of St. Josemaría. This project was already reported on in Romana, no. 73. The image is the work of the Sanlúcar sculptor Adrián Lemas.

On November 28, the Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago de Compostela, Francisco José Prieto, blessed the sculpture of St. Josemaría Escrivá that was installed in the new church of Santa Cruz de Oleiros. The image is the work of the Italian sculptor Emanuele Barsanti, from Pietrasanta in Tuscany, and is inspired by the one in the shrine of Torreciudad, the work of Joan Mayné (Barcelona 1928-2016).