Don Juan Jimenez Vargas was the last one to die from those members who joined Opus Dei before the war.
Juan Jimenez Vargas was one of the first members of Opus Dei. He joined the Work on January 4th, 1933. This was the second time he met with St. Josemaria. In this meeting the founder told him about the supernatural outlook of the Work and don Juan asked to be admitted. He had met St. Josemaria at the beginning of 1932, in a visit that was pure coincidence and of just a few minutes: he was only accompanying a friend of his -Adolfo Gomez- who used to go to confession with St. Josemaria. He was a medicine student of a middle-class family. Don Juan realized that St. Josemaria would ask frequently to those who went to confession with him, names of friends that he could be introduced to. don Juan was one of those first three that attended the first circle of studies at the nursing home of Porta Coeli (on January 21st, 1931). Soon after having attended this first circle - actually, the day after - he began the catechesis in the suburb of Tetuán, which was back then one of the worst of Madrid due to poverty as well as an anti-clerical atmosphere. “It was repulsive” don Juan used to say, in regards to how many people lived in Tetuán.
From Vasquez de Prada: "Juan was impressed by the faith and devotion that shone through the liturgical gestures and prayers, and especially by "the way [St. Josemaria] held the monstrance in his hands and gave the blessing."[13] Years later Father Josemaría explained what had been going through his mind when he gave that blessing with the Blessed Sacrament:
"When class was over, I went to the chapel with those boys, and I took our Lord sacramentally present in the monstrance, raised him, and blessed those three..., and I saw three hundred, three hundred thousand, thirty million, three billion..., white, black, yellow, of all the colors, all the combinations, that human love can produce. And I fell short, because this has become a reality after not even half a century. I fell short, because our Lord has been generous beyond my wildest dreams."[14]
Extract from: Andres Vazquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei Vol. I: The Early Years, Princeton NJ: Scepter Publishers, pp. 367-371.
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| Juan Jimenez Vargas, sitting, first from left Photo taken on their arrival in Andorra after crossing the Pyrenees |
Don Juan was in the group that crossed the Pyrenees with St. Josemaria. Years later, he was lecturer at the University of Navarra, Faculty of Medicine, in charge o the department of Physiology.
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