From the Catholic Almanac
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
ISSN 0069-1208

From page 320

"Opus Dei was founded by Msgr. Josemaria Escriva in 1928 in Madrid with the aim of spreading throughout all sectors of society a profound awareness of the universal call to holiness and apostolate (of Christian witness and action) in the ordinary circumstances of life, and, more specifically, through one's professional work. On Nov. 28, 1982, Pope John Paul II established Opus Dei as a personal prelature with the full title, Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei.

The 1991 edition of Anuario Pontificio reported that the prelature had 1,385 priests (39 newly ordained) and 345 major seminarians. Also, there were 74,710 lay persons - men and women, married and single, of every class and social condition - of about 80 nationalities.

In the United States, members of Opus Dei, along with cooperators and friends, conduct apostolic works corporately in major cities in the East and Midwest, Texas and on the West Coast. Elsewhere, corporate works include universities, vocational institutes, training schools for farmers and numerous other apostolic initiatives. An information office is located at 330 Riverside Dr., New York, N.Y. 10025."

From page 76

"Worldwide Opus Dei defended itself again against oft-spoken charges regarding its nature as a personal prelature. "Opus Dei was never 'taken out from under the jurisdiction of the bishops of the world' when it was made a personal prelature" in 1982, as some have charged, the organization said in a statement Jan. 17.

It called such allegations "damaging". Members of Opus Dei - 76,000 lay persons and 1,300 priests - "are under the jurisdiction of their local bishops" except with respect to "specific... spiritual and apostolic" commitments under the jurisdiction of the Opus Dei prelate (bishop)."


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