Javier Echevarría Rodríguez

Javier Echevarría Rodríguez
Prelate of Opus Dei

Javier Echevarría Rodríguez
Church Roman Catholic
See Opus Dei
In Office 1994—
Predecessor Álvaro del Portillo †
Successor (incumbent)
Orders
Ordination 7 August 1955
Personal details
Born 14 June 1932 (1932-06-14) (age 79)
Madrid, Spain

Most Reverend Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez (born June 14, 1932) is a Spanish bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current head of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. He holds doctorates in both civil and canon law.

Within the Roman Curia, the governing body of the Catholic Church, he is a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

He has written a number of books on spirituality: Itinerarios de vida cristiana, Para servir a la Iglesia, Getsemaní, Eucaristía y vida cristiana. He has also written his reminiscences of St. Josemaria: Memoria del beato Josemaría.

Contents

Life

Echevarría was born in Madrid, Spain, on June 14, 1932, and began work as the personal secretary of Father Josemaría Escrivá before being ordained to the priesthood for Opus Dei on August 7, 1955.

He was appointed the Secretary General of Opus Dei in 1975 upon the succession of Msgr. Escrivá by Father Álvaro del Portillo as Prelate, or head, of Opus Dei. Echevarría later became Vicar General in 1982, when Opus Dei became a personal prelature.

With the death of Bishop Álvaro del Portillo on March 23, 1994, a period of mourning followed. Father Echevarría Rodríguez was elected by Opus Dei's General Council as the second Prelate of Opus Dei. He was subsequently confirmed by the Holy See on April 20, 1994, and Titular Bishop of Cilibia on November 21, 1994. He was consecrated a bishop by Pope John Paul II with Bishops Giovanni Battista Re and Jorge María Mejía as co-consecrators on January 6, 1995.

Bishop Echevarría serves as the chancellor of the prestigious University of Navarra in Spain, the University of Asia and the Pacific in the Philippines, and various other universities under the spiritual care of Opus Dei.

He participated in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America in 1997 and of Europe in 1999, and also of the General Ordinary Assembly of 2001 and 2005.

On July 9, 2005, Benedict XVI greeted Bishop Echevarria on the 50th anniversary of his ordination, expressing his "esteem and affection" for the prelate of Opus Dei. Further, the Pope commented on the work being done by Echevarria:

Governing your Prelature and contemplating in it the action of God’s grace, you never cease exhorting its members—with your example, with your writings, with your words and your pastoral trips—to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose (Acts 11:23).
When you foster the eagerness for personal sanctity and the apostolic zeal of your priests and lay people, not only do you see the flock that has been entrusted to you grow, but you provide an effective help to the Church in her urgent evangelization of present-day society.
In the terrain of culture and the sciences, you strive to spread the Christian message in all environments, as is clearly seen in the recently established Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
You bear in your heart the defense of life, the family and marriage, and the formation and pastoral care of young people.[1]

Works

He has written works on spirituality such as:

Some excerpts from his works

References

  1. ^ Letter of Benedict XVI to the Prelate of Opus Dei, 9 July 2005
  2. ^ Opus Dei - FROM THE PRELATE - “Eucharist and Christian Life”, a new book by Bishop Javier Echevarría
  3. ^ Opus Dei - From the prelate - Bishop Javier Echevarria speaks of divine filiation

External links