BISHOP ALVARO DEL PORTILLO
Prelate of Opus Dei
Prayer
for private devotion
O God, most merciful Father, You granted your servant Alvaro,
Bishop, the grace to be an exemplary pastor in the service of the
Church and a most faithful son and successor to Blessed
Josemaria, the founder of Opus Dei. Help me to respond faithfully
to the demands of my Christian vocation and teach me to turn
every moment and circumstance of my life into an occasion of
loving You and serving the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Deign to
glorify your servant Alvaro, and through his intercession grant
me the favor I ask of You...(Make your request). Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
In conformity with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, we declare
that there is no intention of anticipating in any way the
judgement of the Church, and that this prayer is not intended for
public use.
Bishop Alvaro del Portillo was born on March 11, 1914, in Madrid,
Spain. The third of eight children, he grew up in a deeply
Christian family. He held doctorates in engineering, history, and
canon law.
In 1935 he joined Opus Dei, which had been founded by Blessed
Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer on October 2, 1928. Always faithful
to his vocation to Opus Dei, he strove to sanctify his
professional work and daily duties, and he carried out a broad
apostolate with his classmates and colleagues. Soon he became
Blessed Josemaria's strongest support, and remained at his side
almost forty years as his closest collaborator.
On June 25, 1944, he was ordained a priest. From then on he
dedicated himself exclusively to his pastoral ministry, serving
the members of Opus Dei and all souls. In 1946 he moved to Rome
with Blessed Josemaria. His tireless service to the Church was
seen in his dedication to the tasks the Holy See entrusted to
him, including consultor for several dicasteries in the Roman
curia, and especially in his active participation in the work of
the Second Vatican Council.
On September 15, 1975 he was elected as Blessed Josemaria's first
successor. The Holy Father John Paul II appointed him Prelate of
Opus Dei on November 28, 1982, when Opus Dei was established as a
personal Prelature. He was ordained a bishop by John Paul II on
January 6, 1991. All of Bishop del Portillo's work of governing
was characterized by fidelity to the founder and his message,
while carrying out an untiring pastoral work to extend the
apostolates of the Prelature, in the service of the Church.
His dedication to the mission he had received was always based,
following the teachings of Blessed Josemaria, on a deep sense of
his divine filiation, fruit of the Holy Spirit's action. This led
him to seek identification with Christ in a trusting abandonment
to the Will of God the Father, constantly nourished by prayer,
the Eucharist, and a tender devotion to Mary. His love for the
Church was seen in his close communion with the Pope and the
bishops. A spiritual portrait of his soul would include his
charity toward everyone, his tireless concern for his daughters
and his sons in Opus Dei, as well as humility, prudence,
fortitude, simplicity and self-forgetfulness, along with
kindness, serenity, and good humor which he always spread around
him. His ardent zeal to win souls for Christ was reflected in his
episcopal motto: Regnare Christum volumus! We want Christ to
Reign!
Early in the morning of March 23, 1994, God called his good and
faithful servant to Himself. Bishop del Portillo had returned
only a few hours before from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,
where, with deep prayer and piety, he had followed Jesus'
footsteps from Nazareth to the Holy Sepulcher. He celebrated his
last Mass on earth in the Church of the Cenacle in Jerusalem.
On that same March 23, 1994, the Holy Father John Paul II prayed
before Bishop del Portillo's remains, which now lie in the crypt
of the Church of the Prelature, Our Lady of Peace-Bruno Buozzi,
75, Rome-constantly accompanied by the prayer and affection of
the faithful of Opus Dei and of thousands of others.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Those who obtain favors through the intercession of Bishop Alvaro
del Portillo are asked to notify the Office of Vice Postulation
of Opus Dei in the United States, 330 Riverside Drive, New York,
NY 10025.
