OPUS DEI

(Latin: God's Work), Roman Catholic organization of laymen and priests whose members pledge to seek personal Christian perfection and strive to implement Christian ideals in their chosen occupations. It is conservative with respect to theological and disciplinary loyalty to the teaching authority of the church. There are separate organizations for men and women, which, since 1982, have been headed by a prelate appointed by the pope. Priests constitute only a tiny percentage of the nearly 80,000 members living in 80 countries. Opus Dei was founded in 1928 in Spain by Josemara Escriv de Balaguer y Albs, a priest with legal and journalistic training, and was definitively approved by the Holy See in 1950. On Nov. 28, 1982, Pope John Paul II established Opus Dei as a personal prelature with the title Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. Although the new status put Opus Dei under a prelate equivalent to a superior general of a religious order, the organization itself remained subject to a certain measure of authority and observation on the part of local bishops and dioceses. Certain members of Opus Dei, called Numeraries, must be unmarried and prepared to devote a large part of their time to the organization. All members serve a period of probation. Numeraries attend monthly meetings and spend five consecutive days each year in religious retreat. The organization is assisted by Cooperators, who are not members and, by permission of the Holy See, need not even be Christians. Because Opus Dei counted a number of highly educated persons of acknowledged ability among its members, Spain's leader, Generalissimo Francisco Franco, turned to this group for help in 1956 following his decision to implement a program of economic reform. In his final years, 10 out of his 19 cabinet members belonged to Opus Dei. After the death of Franco in 1975, the influence of Opus Dei members waned as other parties and associations began to compete in the political arena. The international influence of the organization can be inferred from its ability to operate vocational, trade, home-arts, and agricultural centres in various parts of the world and from its numerous high schools, some 200 residence halls for university students, schools of business administration, and charitable activities. Opus Dei has also founded and endowed (with government assistance) the University of Navarre, which has come to be regarded by many as the best university in Spain. The organization also operates a university in Piura, Peru.