29/06/1948: St. Josemaria establishes the Roman College of the Holy Cross.
Villa Tevere had been founded in the beginning of 1947. A few months after, they moved from the flat in Citta Leonina to what they called "the Pensionato, where they lived for a long while, without having any more beds than the one reserved for whoever was sick. They practically counted only with the ground floor.
At the same time that they did many negotiations to make the Work known (st Josemaría had arrived in Rome only two years before) they were trying to get money for the works of Villa Tevere, they procured for the apostolic expansion throughout Italy, and on top of all that st. Josemaría took a gigantic leap of faith and signed the decree by which the Roman College of the Holy Cross was raised. Its first rector was don Alvaro. Immediately many students started arriving, as St Josemaría would've predicted: one day, they would come from all continents.
June 28th, 1946: "Cum Societatis"
28/06/1946: Apostolic brief “Cum Societatis” from Pope Pius XII, by which different indulgences are conceded to members of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei.
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Wooden Cross in Molinoviejo, a centre in Segovia
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June 28th, 1940: "I thought what would be of me, if I abandoned the vocation received from God"
St. Josemaria had finished preaching a monthly recollection to a group of St. Raphael guys from Valladolid (among them, don Jesus Urteaga). Valladolid was the third city where there was a centre after the war. (1: Jenner in Madrid; 2: The Lair, in Valencia; 3: El Rincon). Strolling through the orchard of the school, st. Josemaria saw a cage where there was an old eagle. The founder commented years after: “I’ve told you before the sad impression I got from seeing an eagle inside an iron cage, with a piece of carrion in its claws. That animal, which high up is all majesty, owner of the heights, and looking at the sun face to face- locked in that cage produced disgust and shame (...). I thought what would be of me, if I abandoned the vocation received from God”.
June 27th, 1937: The custom of the three Hail Marys
During a meditation in the Consulate of Honduras (during the Spanish civil war), our father said: “After this talk, I’d like you to take up this custom from now on: to pray three Hail Marys to our lady, kneeling and, when possible, with your arms extended like a Cross, so that she concedes the gift of purity to everyone in the Work”.
June 26th, 1975: St. Josemaria's 'Dies natalis'
St. Josemaria died on this day in 1975, he was 73 years old. The current prelate (bp. Javier Echevarria) said in a get-together in Villa Sachetti on June 19th, 1999, after arriving in Villa Tevere:
“We went up the stairs to Villa Vecchia, some three steps. I went ahead to open the doors, and don Alvaro was holding our father’s arm. When we got to the Cortile Vecchio don Alvaro told me: I thought that we wouldn’t make it because the father couldn’t go on. At the Chapel’s door our father again made a genuflection, a paused and deep one. When we arrived at the Soggiorno we called the doctor. Our father was sitting a few minutes while he checked his pulse. Then he said: Let’s go upstairs, we can’t be here wasting time. We took the elevator. Those present were our father, don Alvaro, the doctor and I. Don Alvaro moved to one side, to explain to the doctor what had happened. Our father entered don Alvaro's study and when I was closing the door of the elevator he called me: "Javi!". I was shocked when I saw him: He fell on his back and hit his head quite strongly on the floor. We were trying to get him back in his senses, struggling, doing cardiac massage, until don Alvaro said: It seems that God has taken our father. From the first moment don Alvaro gave him the absolution. It was the 31st anniversary of don Alvaro having given him the absolution for the first time (When don Alvaro heard the founder's sacramental confession, the day after his ordination). When the doctor pronounced him dead, everyone knelt before our father. Don Alvaro then removed the crucifix that our father carried since many years ago which has a relic of the Holy Cross and put it on himself saying he would carry it until the successor was elected.
June 26th, 1944: Don Alvaro hears sacramental Confession for the first time
The day after the ordination of the first three, St. Josemaria went to the centre in Villanueva street in Madrid, which was bl. Alvaro's residence (along with other members of the Work. St Josemaria was living in the centre at Diego de Leon). St. Josemaria asked him if he had yet heard a sacramental confession. When bl. Alvaro answered no, st. Josemaria said: “Then the first one will be mine: I want to make a general confession with you”. Our father mentioned later that, after his confession, don Alvaro didn’t want to say anything and started reciting the formula for absolution, and our father interrupted: “My son, I understand if you don’t want to give me any advice, but you have to give me my penance”. Don Alvaro gave him his penance, and then he was so nervous that he forgot the formula for absolution, despite knowing it very well of course. St. Josemaria continued telling it to him in full. From that day on until his death, don Alvaro was St. Josemaria's confessor.
The photo is of that very day, and that room is still the chapel at that centre in Madrid.
June 25th, 1973: "Here on earth, there's only one saint"
On
June 25,1973, the founder got a papal audience—the last one of his life.
Pope Paul greeted him affectionately. Five years had gone by since their last meeting. "Why haven't you come to see me more often?" he complained.
There was a sudden silence, which the founder ended by filling the Pope in on how the Work had been developing in all those years, all over the world. From time to time Pope Paul interrupted him and, looking at him with admiration, exclaimed, "You are a saint!" The founder kept protesting, "No, no. Your Holiness doesn't know me. I am a poor sinner." But the Pope kept insisting, "No, no. You are a saint." Overwhelmed and embarrassed, the founder finally deflected the praise from himself by saying, "Here on earth there is only one [santo]:" (saint): "the [Santo Padre]" (Holy Father).
June 25th, 1944: Priestly ordination of the first three
Priestly ordination of the first three, in the Oratory of the Episcopal Palace of Madrid, by don Leopoldo Eilo y Garay. in 1940 the three of them had already started to study theology to be well prepared. Our father didn’t have to give them too many explanations to ask them to be ordained. Don Alvaro commented himself: Everything was so easy! There is nothing baroque in the Work. Our father knew perfectly that he could count on us, and we responded freely, with no coercion. When Mons. Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, Bishop of Madrid-Alcalá, found out that don Alvaro, whom he loved and admired very much, was going to be ordained a priest, asked him: “Alvaro, are you aware that you’re going to lose your identity? You are a prestigious engineer, and after this you will be just another priest...” Don Alvaro answered: Dear Bishop, my identity I gave away many years, to Jesus.”
The ceremony was attended by many people in the Work, from different cities in Spain, relatives of those being ordained, and friends.
St Josemaría was not present, he was celebrating Holy Mass at the same time in the Chapel of Lagasca, with don Jose Maria Albareda. From don Alvaro: “He could have gone, but he preferred not to be among the crowd that attended. He thought that if he went, everybody would want to congratulate him, and that he would be the center of attention.”
When celebrating the Holy Mass on the 25-06-1969 (25th anniversary) in Villa Tevere, in separate chapels, each of them three realized that they had been set with a palia embroidered for the occasion and the same Chalice that they had used the day of their first Mass 25 years earlier.
June 24th, 1946: st. Josemaría’s first Mass in a centre in Rome
On this date st. Josemaria celebrated Holy Mass for the first time in the chapel of Città Leonina, in Rome.
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| In the balcony of the apartment at Citta Leonina |
June 22nd, 1933: what i if everything is a lie, an illusion, a waste of time?
22/06/1933: Thursday, eve of the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. St Josemaría is in the Church of perpetual help in Madrid for some days of retreat which he had started on the 19th of June. Some time before, (written in his Catherines in 1932) a claretian (F. Juan Postius) with whom he had been going to confession since father Sanchez went into hiding due to the persecution, had announced to him a test from God: “Father Postius, told me that the time will come in which I won’t feel that supernatural impulse and love for the Work”. In May 1930 our father had written: “Not once does it come to me to think that I go fooling around, that God doesn’t want his Work, anything but that”. But that Thursday evening in 1933, for brief moments, our Lord took away that clear sight of the 2nd of October 1928, letting him float among those adverse thoughts that jumped on his mind. St Josemaría wrote: “It was matter of seconds, but how does one suffer!”. And he recounts: “Alone, in a pew of this Church of Perpetual Help, I was trying to pray before The Most Holy Sacrament when, for a moment and without any clear reason -there isn’t any- it came to my consideration this bitter thought: What if everything is a lie, an illusion of yours, and you’re wasting your time... and -which is worse- others’ time?” It was a moment of supernatural vacuum, a supreme angst that filled my soul with bitterness. In front of such doubt, I asked God: “If the Work is not for serving you, to serve your Church, destroy it! make it be gone immediately!. And if it is, confirm me!. Immediately he à experimented an ineffable sense of peace and joy, like a confirmation that the Work is God's: Immensely I felt confirmed in the truth about His Will regarding His Work”. St Josemaría left this fact written, according to his notes: “Because I want the first ones to be aware of the divine little things that have surrounded the birth of this new militia of Christ. With this knowledge and that which from my miseries they will go acquiring, by way of dealing with me, they won’t be able of anything else but to love the Work and exclaim: “Truly this Work is... the Work of God!”.
This same test he suffered in Sept. 1941 in Segovia. St Josemaría made the same petition to God again, and again had the same supernatural reaction.
21/06/1946: Stormy night in the J.J. Sister
21/06/1946: Stormy night on the boat J.J. Sister (st Josemaría was travelling with don Jose Orlandis) during the trip from Barcelona to Genoa. The doctor in Madrid had advised against the trip, and told st Josemaría he was not accountable for his life if he went ahead. St Josemaría had written to don Alvaro: There is nothing funny about this trip you talk of as 'convenient': I’ve never been in worse physical condition... However, decided not to go against God’s will (...) I’ll go like a truss”.
The storm, strange itself at that time of the year, lasted for almost 20 hours. All the dinerware and glassware in the dining room was broken. One could hear the furniture moving from side to side of the rooms. Practically all passengers and crew ended up seasick. In the midst of it, st Josemaría commented to don Jose: “You know what? If we sink and get eaten by the fish... Perico (Pedro) Casciaro shall not eat seafood ever again! Soon after he commented: “Got to see how deep has the devil sunk it’s tail in the gulf of Lyon! It’s clear he’s not happy about us arriving in Rome!”. St Josemaría arrived in Genoa the night of the 22nd of June. Don Alvaro and don Salvador Canals were there waiting for him. St Josemaría when greeting don Alvaro, said to him: “Here you got me you crook!... You ended up getting your way!”. That night they slept in a hotel in Genoa, but it was so late that the diner was closed. St Josemaría hadn’t eaten anything for more than 30 hours. Don Alvaro could only offer him a piece of cheese that he had kept in his pocket thinking of St Josemaría, anticipating he might have not been able to eat during the trip. The next day they left to Rome.
June 20th, 1957: Death of "Aunt" Carmen
St. Josemaria's sister, Carmen, never joined the Work - however, she always played vital roles in making the home environment so characteristic of centres of the Work, and transmitting that to those in the administration. She was (and still is) affectionately addressed as "aunt Carmen" by those in the Work. She died on this date, in Rome. Two months before her death (23rd of April), as per St. Josemaria’s request, blessed Alvaro communicated to her the doctors’ opinion about her incurable illness. As always, with good humour she would joke then about it: “Alvaro has brought to me the judge's sentence...”
St. Josemaria commented: “Two months ago, she received the news that she was going to die, like a holy person of Opus Dei; so said it to me Alvaro, who communicated it to my sister”. He would continue: “Just hours before her death, I was there on my knees, asking for her healing. We have prayed together a lot. Tuesday morning I started to give her the last rites, and broke in tears. So don Alvaro continued the administration of the Sacrament. I felt humiliated; thought: What a bad example I’ve given to this group of my sons. In turn I told her: “Carmen, your remains will be next to mine... and she was happy, very happy”. When her remains were moved to the Crypt of Saint Mary of the Peace our father commented: “While they place the remains of my sister, I want to tell you a few words. She has taught us how one lives and how one dies in Opus Dei: without making any noise, disappearing, without anybody noticing except us, who were very near (...). She didn’t fear life, nor did she fear death at all: that’s the spirit of Opus Dei (...) She has died offering all her sufferings for the Work, for her nieces and nephews”.
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| Portrait of St. Josemaria with his sister Carmen and brother Santiago |
In another get-together (21-11-1959) he said: “Before dying, I told her that we would bury her here in the sottocripta. And she thought of saying: “Hey, if Santiago attends, he shall be careful [he should wear a jacket], because it’s very cold”. Next to her, with me, were don Alvaro, don Javier and Dr. Pastor, who was checking her pulse. There were also women numeraries and assistant numeraries. She well deserved that company. I cried like a child, hiding, before the Tabernacle, until she died, because I saw that we were ending another historical period of time, because I loved my sister very much...”. St. Josemaria continued: “Immediately after her death, I went down to the chapel, to celebrate the first Mass in offering for her soul... Pray for her, offer prayers, but I’m sure she’s with God already; ma propio certo: Completely certain.” Soon after the 26-6-1975, don Alvaro found an envelope handwritten (by St. Josemaria) which read “to be opened after my death”. Don Alvaro told that in that envelope there was a letter in which our father recounted what happened in that Mass. Don Alvaro explained it so: “Before starting Holy Mass, he had the idea of asking for a sign that Carmen was in heaven, but immediately rejected it. He thought: that is to tempt God, I can’t ask that. And he started the Mass. When the memento vivi came he had been praying at length, but didn’t remember Carmen at all. He realized it when he was finished: I haven’t prayed for Carmen, I’ll do it in the memento for the dead. And when that time came, he prayed for a long while also, but again forgot aunt Carmen. He continued celebrating the holy Mass and during thanksgiving, he thought: that is God’s response. I had the temptation to ask for a sign that my sister was in heaven, then I retracted my self and asked for pardon, and our good Lord has given it to me. Because it’s not logical that I celebrate the Mass for the soul of my sister and to forget completely about her. This means that she doesn’t need suffrages. And he felt inside of him that ineffable sensation of God’s hand, touching the innermost of his soul: yes, Carmen is in heaven”. The next day, in a get-together with the students of the Roman College, without making any mention related to the previous day’s Mass, he commented: “I have come for you to see that the father is “ha-ppy”, “joy-ful”, like that, marking each syllable, with the joy of the Holy Spirit... yes my sons, you have to congratulate me. Carmen is already in heaven...”. On the 23rd her remains were buried in the Sotto Cripta of Saint Mary of the Peace in Villa Tevere.
June 16th, 1950: Decree of approval "Primus Inter"
16/6/1950: Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Holy See granted the definitive approval to Opus Dei as a Secular Institute of Pontifical Right. St. Josemaria requested all centres of the Work - by then more than a hundred already - to have Solemn Benediction and the Te Deum sung. St. Josemaria gave the benediction at Villa delle Rose, a centre for women. One of those present wrote: "Today, just like on that 2nd day of February 1947 when at Citta Leonina we heard the news of Provida Mater Ecclesia, the father was very happy, but tired: as if every step of the Work into the Church was leaving in him a footprint, a scar... When he took the Monstrance to give the blessing with the Blessed Sacrament, his hands were shaking. He was not nervous - everything in his face denoted serenity. He was excited. In fact, while singing the Te Deum, his voice was less clear, not as strong as other times. It seemed as if his throat was going to break..."
June 16th, 1970: St. Josemaria's wish to die staring at our Lady of Guadalupe
St. Josemaria was in Jaltepec, Mexico, with a group of priests from the Guadalajara diocese. It had been a hot day. Later on, don Alvaro would recall: "After that get-together, which went for more than one hour, the father was exhausted. He finished only because we told him to, but because those priests were asking about Second Vatican Council matters, the father told me to stay with them, while he left to rest a bit".
Dr. Pacheco continues: "That was when our father grabbed my arm and said 'Come with me'. He went up the stairs leaning on my arm; behind us was don Javier. When we reached the room where he was staying, he indicated to me 'Come in, sit down over here' and pointed at an armchair. In the meantime, he had removed his cassock. He said jokingly that his thermostat was broken. He leaned back on the bed so that he could see the image of our Lady that was in that room, very well lit by the light coming from the opposing window. For a while he was silent, staring at it. The silence went on, he was clearly praying. Suddenly, as if concluding what he'd been thinking, he said 'I'd like to die like this: looking at the most Holy Virgin and she giving me a flower... - And after another silence, making a wish he added: - Yes, I'd like to die before this picture, with our Lady giving me a rose. I want to take this picture and hang it in the father's room'. Soon after, we heard the voices of don Alvaro and don Pedro, as they were walking up the stairs, having finished the get-together with priests".
In 1972, the picture was sent to st. Josemaria, after a lot of red tape as it had been loaned to Jaltepec and the owners were not very keen on letting it go that easily. Before sending it to Rome, the vicar took it to the Basilica of Guadalupe to get it touched by the image of our Lady of Guadalupe as he knew this would make st. Josemaria very happy.
Not that long after the 26th of June 1975, don Alvaro commented: "The father had returned from Castelgandolfo, from a get-together with some daughters of his; he walked into his room, looked at the image of our Lady of Guadalupe (the one that had been sent from Mexico and hung in his room) and it seems that Our Lady of Heaven, Mother of God and Mother of ours, told him: 'you've worked enough'; then gave him a rose, which was a kiss in the forehead, and took him to heaven".
June 15th, 1946: The move to Città Leonina
Blessed Alvaro, Don Jose Orlandis and don Salvador Canals were the first three members of the Work who went to Rome. On May 27th, 1946, the landlord at the house at Corso del Rinascimento asked them to leave immediately. They moved to Città Leonina on this date. The change was certainly for the good.
Many months later, when St. Josemaria arrived in Rome, as he would say - "videre Petrum" (to see [St.] Peter), he stayed with his sons at Città Leonina. from the window, (second from the top in the photo below) he could see the window of the Pope's room (see above the location in relation to St. Peter's) and that night, he stayed up in prayer for the Holy father looking at the lit room through his small window.
June 14th: don Javier's birthday (the current prelate of Opus Dei)
Msgr. Echevarria was born on June 14th, 1932.
As a child, he lived with his family in a building where there was an Opus Dei centre. Without knowing it, he quite likely would have crossed paths with St. Josemaria.
In 1948, he was on his way to the cinema. A friend of his called him on the phone, and proposed to go "to a residence in Diego de Leon, to find out about what Opus Dei is".
He joined Opus dei on September 8th, 1948 - he was 16 years old.
He was ordained in 1954, and in 1955 St. Josemaria asked him to be one of his "custodians" (custodes) together with blessed Alvaro - that is, they would be with him at all times. He was only 24 years old.
After St. Josemaria's death, he and don Joaquin Alonso became don Alvaro's custodes. From 1994, he was don Alvaro's successor as prelate of Opus Dei.
June 10th, 1949: the first of the inscriptions on Villa Tevere's wall
The Roman College's twenty-fifth anniversary was celebrated on June 29th, 1973. In that quarter century, its students from forty countries had written more than five hundred doctoral theses on subjects of Theology, Canon Law, Philosophy, or Education. One of the walls in Villa Tevere was inscribed with the name and year of the doctorate of one student from each country. The first of these is blesses Alvaro. The date inscribed by his name is June 10,1949.
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Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
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June 10th, 1927: the crucial meeting that allowed st. Josemaría to settle in Madrid
After meeting our father at the priestly residence of Larrea street, Ms. Luz Rodríguez Casanova -foundress of "Las Damas Apostólicas" -, decides to ask for the appointment of st. Josemaría as chaplain of the Foundation of the sick. This appointment also carried the granting of ministerial licences in Madrid (until now, he had permission to celebrate Holy Mass in the Church of st. Michael only). These licences (also known as faculties) were granted only for a year, but then would be renewed and extended.
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Church of the Foundation of St. Isabel
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June 6th, 1939: Nothing would get in the way of Don Alvaro's evening ofrecollection
From the 6th to the 10th of June, St. Josemaria preached the first retreat for university students after the civil war, at the “Blessed Juan de Rivera” College in Burjasot.
At his arrival the previous evening, the group of boys were awaiting him. As soon as he stepped out of the car, don Antonio Rodilla commented in a low voice to the boys: “This priest is miraculous”. Our father, despite the distance, heard the comment and gently grabbed don Antonio by the neck, making a gesture as if telling him he shouldn’t say that. Many of those who attended later asked to join Opus Dei: one of them was don Amadeo de Fuenmayor.
A few days after the retreat had started, don Alvaro turned up, as he had managed to get some days of leave (he was still second lieutenant in the Spanish army). He had been traveling three days, without sleeping much, to be with st. Josemaria (the war had destroyed many roads and bridges). St. Josemaria told him to go straight to bed. Don Alvaro asked him whether he could stay for the meditation so that he could fulfill his monthly 'day of recollection' (one of the norms in the plan of life followed by members of the Work). Despite seeing him exhausted, st. Josemaria agreed upon his insistence. Years later, St. Josemaria would recall, with amusement: “He sat on the first bench, and after 10 minutes he was already asleep. He was so tired that, despite his good will to do the personal prayer, he couldn’t resist his sleep. And mind you, those benches didn’t have a backrest! I was very amused because, despite the outrage of some of those others present, the sleep of that son of mine, on that occasion, was the prayer that would please God, because of the effort that he had invested in fulfilling that monthly norm of the recollection evening”.
June 4th, 1943: Don Alvaro tricks the Swiss Guards
On this date, blessed Alvaro was received for the first time by Pope Pius XII.
St. Josemaria had sent him to Rome to negotiate with the Holy See the nihil obstat for the diocesan foundation of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. Bl. Alvaro had not yet been ordained a Priest.
Don Alvaro was wearing the uniform of the School of Engineers (he was 29 years old) and when he entered through the 'Portone di Bronzo', the swiss guards mistook him for one of their captains. The guard in charge summoned the other guards so that “the Captain”, as per protocol, could carry out the troop inspection. Don Alvaro, in his good humor, played along and carried out the troop inspection, to the surprise of some of those present who commented about how young "the captain" was.
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| Dressed with the uniform of the School of Engineers, he explained to Pope Pius XII in 1943 the new ecclesial entity of Opus Dei |
Don Alvaro was with the Pope for about 45 minutes. The Pope would always remember the image of the young spanish engineer that would talk to him about new ways to achieve sanctity in the midst of the world. He didn’t forget that conversation - to the point that, when they met once again in a second hearing on 3/april/46 (by then Don Alvaro was already a Priest and was wearing his cassock) the Pope greeted warmly: “Hello, Engineer!"
June 3rd, 1944: The first 3 deacons. Do you know who read the Gospel for the Mass?
On this date, Saturday, bishop Casimiro Morcillo, auxiliary bishop to Bp. Leopoldo Eijo y Garay, conferred the diaconate to the first three Opus Dei (soon to be) priests in Madrid.
The occasion coincided with the ordination of various seminarians. The Gospel for the Mass was read by blessed Alvaro del Portillo.
June 2nd, 1950: statutes for the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross
On this date, St. Josemaria presented for approval to the Holy See the statutes that describe the figure of 'associate' and 'supernumerary' diocesan priests of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross.
What is the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross? See more:
http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/the-priestly-society-of-the-holy-cross-what-it-is/
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