Javier Echevarría Rodríguez

His Excellency, The Most Reverend
Javier Echevarría Rodríguez
Prelate of Opus Dei
Church Roman Catholic
See Opus Dei
In office 1994—2016
Predecessor Álvaro del Portillo †
Successor Fernando Ocáriz Braña
Orders
Ordination 7 August 1955
Consecration 6 January 1995
by Pope John Paul II
Personal details
Born (1932-06-14)14 June 1932
Madrid, Spain
Died 12 December 2016(2016-12-12) (aged 84)
Rome, Italy
Motto Deo Omnis Gloria
Coat of arms {{{coat_of_arms_alt}}}

Javier Echevarría Rodríguez (14 June 1932 – 12 December 2016) was a Spanish bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Until his death, he was the head of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. He held doctorates in both civil and canon law.[1][2]

Within the Roman Curia, the governing body of the Catholic Church, he was a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints,[1] and the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.[1] He wrote a number of books on spirituality: Paths to God: Building a Christian Life in the 21st Century, Para servir a la Iglesia, Getsemaní, Eucaristía y vida cristiana. He also wrote his reminiscences of St. Josemaria: Memoria del beato Josemaría.

Pope Benedict XVI said on the fiftieth anniversary of Echevarria's ordination in 2005 that his pastoral work "provides effective help to the Church in her urgent evangelization of present-day society" and noted the prelate's concern for "culture and the sciences...the defense of life, the family and marriage, and the formation and pastoral care of young people."[3] Pope Francis lauded his "constant service of love to the Church and souls", underlining his "fatherly testimony of priestly and episcopal life"[4][5].

Formation

Echevarría Rodríguez was born in Madrid, Spain,[6] on 14 June 1932.[7] Echevarría Rodríguez began work as the personal secretary of Josemaría Escrivá[2] before being ordained a priest of Opus Dei on 7 August 1955.[1][8]

In 1954 Echevarría Rodríguez earned a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum.[9]

Echevarría Rodríguez was appointed the Secretary General of Opus Dei in 1975,[2][7] 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, on the Pope's initiative, a personal prelature.[1]

Prelate of Opus Dei

With the death of Bishop Álvaro del Portillo on 23 March 1994, a period of mourning followed. Echevarría Rodríguez was elected by Opus Dei's General Council as the second Prelate of Opus Dei.[1][2][7] He was subsequently confirmed by the Holy See on 20 April 1994,[1] and was then appointed Titular Bishop of Cilibia by Pope John Paul II on 21 November 1994. He was consecrated a bishop by the pope, with Bishops Giovanni Battista Re and Jorge María Mejía as co-consecrators, on 6 January 1995.[1][8]

When he became prelate he stated that his pastoral priorities were evangelization in the areas of the family, youth and culture. During his term of office, the Opus Dei Prelature begun stable formational activities in sixteen countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.[10]

Echevarría Rodríguez served as the chancellor of the University of Navarra in Spain[11], the University of Asia and the Pacific in the Philippines, and various other universities under the spiritual care of Opus Dei.

Echevarria Rodríguez 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 Tuesday, 18 September 2012, Echevarría Rodríguez was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as one of the papally-appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization[12]

On 9 July 2005, Pope Benedict XVI greeted Echevarria Rodríguez on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination, expressing his "esteem and affection":

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.[3]

Upon Echevarria's death in 2016, Pope Francis praised "his generous and fatherly testimony of priestly and episcopal life. He followed the example of Saint Josemaría Escrivá and Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, whom he succeeded at the head of this entire family, giving his life in a constant service of love to the Church and souls."[13]

Late life and death

In 2014, at age 82, he appointed priest Fernando Ocáriz as Auxiliary Vicar, considering an "increase in the work of government required of the Prelate", as well as his age.[14] The Auxiliary Vicar is a position to be filled when needed, holding executive authority, foreseen in the statutes of Opus Dei.[15]

On 5 December 2016 he was admitted to the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital[2] due to a respiratory infection,[16] where he was treated with antibiotics. On 12 December his condition aggravated leading to a respiratory failure[7] that ultimately caused his death at 21:20 CET.[16]

The day after Msgr. Echevarría's death, Pope Francis wrote Fr. Ocariz giving condolences to him and all members of Opus Dei, thanking God for his "constant service of love to the Church and souls", underlining his "fatherly testimony of priestly and episcopal life"[4][5].

Works

He wrote works on spirituality such as:

Some excerpts from his works

Bishop Echevarria in a get-together with the faithful of the Opus Dei prelature and their friends

"The People of God would like the Bishops and priests to be masters of holiness, precisely because they seek it on a daily basis, through the sacramental life and through their own ministry. They must be men who pray with faith, who passionately love the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Confession, and who live them with sincere piety, to enrich themselves with graces and to be, therefore, bearers of the Good News to other priests and to all the faithful. Using those methods instituted by Jesus Christ in order to identify oneself with Him ensures that the faithful, listening to priests, listen to the Lord; seeing them pray, they in turn are moved to prayer. Aware that they frequently turn to Confession, they too will seek sacramental forgiveness." "It is beneficial also to reflect on the example of many saints, the Curate of Ars, Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, and on the more recentexample of the Blessed John Paul II. As Benedict XVI reminds us, they have left a living example of love for the Sacrament of Penitence, and can reinforce the awareness of having to be Good Shepherds, who know how to give their life for their sheep. By also encouraging presbyters to regularly sit in the confessional, many souls will be cleansed of their sins, and from this ministry vocations for the seminary and for the religious life, as well as vocations for good fathers and mothers of families will bloom. It is also interesting to pay attention to homilies from the doctrinal point of view and with the “gift of tongues”. For many faithful, the Sunday Holy Mass, with its Homily, is the only occasion where they will hear the message of Christ. With evermore renewed commitment, preaching will be very effective, above all if it is directed also at one’s own soul: if one lives what one says and preaches what one lives. [20]"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Biography of the Prelate". Opus Dei. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Boo, Juan Vicente (12 December 2016). "Muere el prelado del Opus Dei, Javier Echevarría, último gran colaborador de San Josemaría Escrivá" (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 Letter of Benedict XVI to the Prelate of Opus Dei, 9 July 2005
  4. 1 2 "Pésame del Papa por la muerte de mons. Echevarría, Prelado del Opus Dei" (in Spanish). Vatican Radio. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Pope Francis has expressed condolences to Opus Dei members following the death of Bishop Javier Echevarria". Catholic Herald. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Opus Dei leader Javier Echevarria dies". DW. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Opus Dei, morto il prelato Javier Echevarria" (in Italian). La Stampa. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Dios y Audacia: Mi Juventud Junto a San Josemaría by Julián Herranz Casado, 44. https://books.google.com/books?id=W_ETvL52sJ0C&pg=PA44#v=onepage&q&f=false Accessed 4 April 2013
  10. ↑ From the beginning of his ministry as prelate, his priorities were evangelization in the areas of the family, youth and culture. He oversaw the beginning of the Prelature’s stable formational activities in sixteen countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka
  11. ↑ "Cancillería" (in Spanish). Universidad de Navarra. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  12. ↑ http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Fpress.catholica.va%2Fnews_services%2Fbulletin%2Fnews%2F29687.php%3Findex%3D29687%26po_date%3D18.09.2012%26lang%3Den
  13. ↑ http://opusdei.org/en/article/telegram-from-pope-francis/
  14. ↑ "Appointments of an Auxiliary Vicar and a new Vicar General of the Prelature". Opus Dei. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  15. ↑ Baura, Eduardo. "The Auxiliary Vicar in Church law for the Prelature of Opus Dei". opusdei.us. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Bishop Javier Echevarria has passed away". Opus Dei. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  17. 1 2 ""Eucharist and Christian Life", a new book by Bishop Javier Echevarría". Opus Dei. 10 October 2005. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  18. ↑ Opus Dei – FROM THE PRELATE – “Eucharist and Christian Life”, a new book by Bishop Javier Echevarría
  19. ↑ Opus Dei – From the prelate – Bishop Javier Echevarria speaks of divine filiation
  20. ↑ Holy See Press Office in http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_25_xiii-ordinaria-2012/02_inglese/b12_02.html#-_H._Exc._Rev._Mons._Javier_ECHEVARRÍA_RODRÍGUEZ,_Titular_Bishop_of_Cilibia,_Prelate_of_the_Personal_Prelature_of_Opus_Dei_(SPAIN)_
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Álvaro del Portillo		 Prelate of Opus Dei
20 April 1994 - 12 December 2016 		Succeeded by
Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz
Preceded by
Víctor Manuel López Forero		 — TITULAR —
Bishop of Cilibia
21 November 1994 - 12 December 2016		 Succeeded by
TBD
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