{"id":167700,"date":"2024-06-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-15T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carfundacion.roymo.info\/blog\/san-josemaria-escriva-de-balaguer\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T16:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T15:21:08","slug":"san-josemaria-escriva-de-balaguer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/san-josemaria-escriva-de-balaguer\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1, June 26, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Life of St. Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Family (1902 - 1914)<\/h3>\n

Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer was born on January 9, 1902<\/strong> in Barbastro, Huesca. His parents' names were Jos\u00e9 and Dolores. They instilled in him and his five brothers and sisters the Christian customs from a very early age. Confession, daily communion, the importance of prayer<\/a> and charity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vocation (1914 - 1918)<\/h3>\n

Later, the death of three younger sisters and the family's economic bankruptcy soon made him aware of mourning and grief<\/a>. This experience made him mature and tempered his expansive and cheerful character. In 1915 the family moved to Logro\u00f1o, where his father started a new job.<\/p>\n

One winter, when there was a heavy snowfall in that city, Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer, after seeing some of the footprints of bare feet in the snow<\/strong> of a Carmelite religious<\/strong>He sensed that God wanted something from him, although he did not know exactly what it was. Then, he asks himself: \"If others make so many sacrifices for God and for their neighbor, will I not be able to offer him something?\" Thus, a divine restlessness arises in his soul: \"I began to sense Love, to realize that my heart was asking me for something great and that it was love\". He thinks he will be able to discover it more easily if he becomes a priest<\/a>He began to prepare himself first in Logro\u00f1o and later in the seminary of Zaragoza.<\/p>\n

Ordination to the priesthood (1918 - 1925)<\/h3>\n

At the University of Saragossa he also studied law, following his father's advice. Jos\u00e9 Escriv\u00e1 died in 1924, and Josemar\u00eda was left as head of the family. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 28, 1925, and began to minister first in a rural parish and then in Saragossa.<\/p>\n

Founding of Opus Dei (1928 - 1936)<\/h3>\n

Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer moved to Madrid in 1927 to obtain the doctorate in Law<\/strong> and exercise the pastoral ministry<\/a> He was in daily contact with sickness and poverty in hospitals and in the poor neighborhoods of Madrid. On October 2, 1928, God made him see what He expected of him, and founded Opus Dei.<\/strong> From that day on, he has been working with all his strength in the development of the foundation that God has entrusted to him.<\/p>\n

Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939)<\/h3>\n

When the civil war broke out in 1936, Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer was in Madrid, but he was not in the city of Madrid. religious persecution forces him to take refuge<\/strong> in different places. Exercises its clandestine priestly ministry<\/a>until he managed to leave Madrid. After a journey through the Pyrenees to the south of France, he moved to Burgos.<\/p>\n

Pastoral mission (1939 - 1945)<\/h3>\n

He returned to Madrid in 1939 at the end of the war and finished his doctoral studies in law. In the following years, Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 continued the mission of Opus Dei and directed numerous retreats for lay people, priests and religious.<\/p>\n

His life in Rome (1946 - 1965)<\/h3>\n

In 1946 he moved to Rome for good. There, he obtained the Doctorate in Theology<\/strong> from the Lateran University. He is appointed consultor to two Vatican congregations, honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology and honorary prelate of His Holiness. He is very close to the pope during the preparations and the sessions of the Vatican Council II.<\/a><\/p>\n

Expansion of the Work outside Spain (1970 - 1975)<\/h3>\n

To consolidate the apostolic mission of Opus Dei, he travels from Rome to different countries in Europe and Latin America. He also holds catechetical meetings with large groups of men and women.<\/p>\n

Death<\/h3>\n

On June 26, 1975 Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer died in Rome.<\/strong> Many bishops and lay people from different countries are asking the Holy See to open his cause of canonization.<\/p>\n

Canonization of St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer<\/h3>\n

On May 17, 1992, John Paul II beatified Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1. He proclaimed him a saint, ten years later, on October 6, 2002<\/strong>The Pope's funeral was held in St. Peter's Square, in Rome, before a large crowd. His remains are in the Church of St. Mary of Peace in Rome, where thousands of faithful come to pray and ask for his intercession.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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