The Juridical Mind of Saint Josemaria Escriva

A Brief History of the Canonical Path of Opus Dei

The vitality of the pastoral phenomenon of Opus Dei required provisional solutions to bridge the canonical gap. St. Josemaria Escriva covered the gap through several delicate, very well-studied, canonical steps in order to be able to enjoy the least inconvenient canonical framework at each historical moment of the growing institution.

The aim of this book is to make a brief historical presentation of the canonical path taken by Saint Josemaria to lead the institution to its final juridical configuration: the personal Prelature established by Pope John Paul II in 1982.

St. Josemaria Escriva was born in Spain in 1902 and was ordained a priest in 1926. In 1928, he received the divine inspiration to found Opus Dei, a Catholic organization of lay people and priests who try to grow close to God through their ordinary lives. St. Josemaria died in 1975 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.