Characteristics and Mission

Opus Dei is a Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church. It was founded in Madrid on October 2, 1928, by St. Josemaría Escrivá. Currently over 80,000 people from every continent belong to the prelature. Its headquarters, together with its prelatic church, are in Rome.

The Second Vatican Council taught that all the baptized are called to follow Jesus Christ, by living according to the Gospel and making it known to others. The aim of Opus Dei is to contribute to that evangelizing mission of the Church. Opus Dei encourages Christians of all social classes to live consistently with their faith, in the middle of the ordinary circumstances of their lives, especially through the sanctification of their work.

In order to fulfill this mission, the prelature offers spiritual formation and pastoral care to its members, as well as to many others. With the help of this pastoral attention they are encouraged to put the teachings of the Gospel into practice, through exercising the Christian virtues and sanctifying their work.

For the faithful of the prelature, sanctifying work means working according to the spirit of Jesus Christ: with the greatest possible competence, for the glory of God and the service of others, thus contributing to the sanctification of the world, by making the Gospel present in all human endeavours.

The faithful of the prelature carry out their individual task of evangelization in the various sectors of society in which they live and work. Their apostolic work is not limited to specific fields such as education, care for the sick, or other forms of direct social aid. The prelature seeks to remind people that all Christians, whatever their background or situation, must cooperate in solving the problems of society in a Christian way, and bear constant witness to their faith.

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