August 23, 1982: Bl. John Paul II announces his decision to raise Opus Dei as personal prelature

On this date, Blessed John Paul II announced his decision of raising Opus Dei as a Personal Prelature.

However, it was also mentioned that the publication of the decree is delayed due to “technical problems”. The issue was, the Pope had already communicated to don Alvaro on November 7th of the previous year that he had taken the necessary steps to raise the Work as a personal prelature, but before making it public he wanted to see the reaction of the Bishops around the world, as it would be the first personal prelature ever. (The reaction was entirely positive).

The news was communicated only to the General council and the Central Administration (the women’s section). Don Julian Herranz once told the story that on that same day, the washing machine at Cavabianca broke down. In the middle of August, when everybody is on holidays and the chance of organising a technician is close to none, the women actually managed to get someone to repair it that same afternoon. One of them, a bit outraged, referring to the prelature’s “technical problem” said, “Is it possible, that in the whole of the Vatican, they can’t get someone to get them out of that trouble and fix the “technical problem?!”. The documents were published on the eve of the First Sunday of Advent, November 27th, 1982.