Romana

On May 31, the Archbishop of Pamplona and Tudela, Florencio Roselló, presided over the ceremony of transferring the mortal remains of Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri and his wife, Laura Busca to the chapel of the University of Navarra Clinic. Both were supernumeraries in Opus Dei and are in the process of joint beatification.

Their remains, exhumed days before from the family pantheon in the Pamplona cemetery, were transferred to two niches built for this purpose in the chapel of the University of Navarra Clinic. Ignacio Barrera and Carlos García del Barrio, Vicars of Opus Dei in Spain and Pamplona, and Luis Cruz, grandson of the Ortiz de Landázuri Busca’s, concelebrated the Mass with the archbishop, along with other priests.

The ceremony was attended by three of the couple’s children, as well as other family members and authorities from the University of Navarra and the Clinic. The ceremony was also attended by a large group of medical professionals, including many retirees who knew the Ortiz de Landázuri’s.

In his homily, the Archbishop recalled some moments of Eduardo and Laura’s life, marked by their self-giving and affection for each other, and grounded on their unconditional love for God. He ended with a petition: “We trust that this transfer of the mortal remains and this closeness of Eduardo and Laurita to us, will help us to come closer to God”.

Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri (Segovia, 1910 - Pamplona, 1985) was an eminent physician, and Laura Busca (Zumárraga, 1912 - Pamplona, 2000) was a pharmacist. They met St. Josemaría and Opus Dei, after being married several years, through Eduardo’s sister, Blessed Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri. In 1952 he asked to be admitted as a supernumerary, and shortly after, in 1953, his wife did likewise.

The family settled in Pamplona in 1958 when Dr. Ortiz de Landázuri moved there from Granada. He practiced his profession as an internist and held the chair of General Pathology at the University of Navarra. St. Josemaría Escrivá had asked him to assist in the development of the School of Medicine at the University of Navarra, begun in 1954, which he was happy to do. Eduardo died in May 1985; Laura died in October 2000. They had seven children.

Eduardo’s cause of canonization was opened in 1998, and that of Laura in 2013. Now, with the diocesan phase of both processes closed (his in 2002, hers in 2015), the documentary and testimonial evidence for Eduardo and Laura is being studied in Rome by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. At this stage, the practice of the virtues of each is being studied separately. However, if the heroic virtues of both spouses were to be shown, only one miracle would be needed for their beatification, obtained thanks to the intercession of the Ortiz de Landázuri Busca couple.