Romana

In Orihuela (Alicante, Spain), an image of St. Josemaría has been placed and blessed in the church of San Sebastián, next to the monastery of the same name belonging to the Augustinian nuns. It is the work of the artist Cristóbal Aparicio Barragán, who did the computer modeling and printed the image in three dimensions using different types of resins, with a final treatment by hand that gives it the appearance of bronze. The idea was born from a group of faithful who attend the church. The Augustinian nuns were very supportive of the project and a year later the image was put up in a side chapel of the church. A relic of St. Josemaría has also been placed in the chapel. Fr. Ignacio Mora-Figueroa, Vicar of the Opus Dei delegation in Aragón and Levante, recently blessed the chapel and the image.

Another Spanish town, Morón de la Frontera, in the province of Seville, has also wanted to contribute its grain of sand to the iconography of the founder of Opus Dei. On Sunday, October 22, a painting of St. John Paul II and another of St. Josemaría, both by the painter Ángel Guillermo Martínez, were blessed in the parish of St. Michael. The initiative arose during the Covid pandemic among some people who were participating in Opus Dei retreats in the parish. The parish priest, Fr. Antonio Muñoz, agreed to the idea. At the Mass that preceded the blessing of the paintings, Fr. Muñoz concelebrated with Fr. Javier Yániz, Vicar of Opus Dei in Western Andalusia.