{"id":226992,"date":"2025-12-07T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?p=226992"},"modified":"2025-12-05T12:42:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T11:42:23","slug":"consagracion-virgen-loreto-san-josemaria-escriva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/consagracion-virgen-loreto-san-josemaria-escriva\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abIn Loreto, I am especially indebted to Our Lady.\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Josemar\u00eda<\/a> Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer visited Loreto for the first time on January 3 and 4, 1948. But the reason why the founder of Opus Dei felt particularly indebted to Our Lady of Loreto was due to a very serious need that arose years later and was linked to the legal structure of the Work, for which he sought the protection of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Account of the visits of the founder of Opus Dei to Loreto<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u00abOn the afternoon of January 3, Saint Josemar\u00eda and Don \u00c1lvaro del Portillo<\/a>, Salvador Moret Bond\u00eda, and Ignacio Sallent Casas. They said the prayer in the courtyard of the House of Nazareth<\/a>, inside the Shrine. Upon leaving the temple, the Father asked Don \u00c1lvaro: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014What did you say to the Virgin Mary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abDo you want me to tell you?\u00ab And, at a gesture from the Father, he replied: \"Well, I repeated what I always say, but as if it were the first time. I said to him: I ask of you what the Father asks of you.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-I think what you said is very good.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013St. Josemar\u00eda later told him.\u00a0Repeat it many times.\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The feast of Our Lady of Loreto is celebrated on December 10. Photo: Vatican News.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 1950s were years of great suffering for St. Josemar\u00eda, due to misunderstandings and conflicts. In the midst of these difficulties, he decided to go to Loreto to place himself under the protection of the Virgin Mary's mantle and caresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consecration to the Most Sweet Heart of Mary: August 15, 1951<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u00abOn August 14, 1951, he decided to set out by road for Loreto,\" recounts writer Ana Sastre, \"to be there on the 15th and consecrate Opus Dei to the Blessed Virgin. The heat was suffocating, and thirst would be felt throughout the journey. There was no highway. The road runs through valleys, climbs steeply up the Apennines, and descends in the last part until it reaches the Adriatic Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a centuries-old tradition, since 1294 the Holy House of Nazareth has stood on the hill of Loreto, beneath the transept of the basilica built later. It is rectangular, with walls about four and a half meters high. One wall is modern, but the others, without foundations and blackened by candle smoke, are, according to tradition, those of the House of Nazareth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its structure and the geological formation of the materials bear no resemblance to the characteristics of the ancient architecture of the area: it is perfectly analogous to the constructions that were built in Palestine twenty centuries ago: sandstone blocks, using lime as a binding agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sanctuary stands on a hill covered with laurel trees, hence its name. They park in the central square and the priest quickly gets out of the car. For fifteen or twenty minutes, they lose sight of him among the crowds filling the basilica. Finally, he emerges, after greeting the Virgin Mary, smiling and cheerful. It is half past seven and they have to return to Ancona to spend the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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