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FORMER GREAT CHANCELLORS

Aplicaciones anidadas

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Blessed Alvaro del Portillo

CHANCELLOR (1975-1994)​​​​​


Álvaro del Portillo was born on 11 March 1914 in Madrid, the third of eight siblings.

He studied Public Works at teaching assistant (3 years, in order to be able to help his family financially) as well as Civil Engineering, where he obtained his doctorate Degree years later. He also obtained a doctorate in Philosophy (History) and Canon Law.

In 1935 he joined Opus Dei, which Saint Josemaría had founded seven years earlier, and on 25 June 1944 he was ordained priest by the bishop of Madrid, Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay. In 1946 he moved to Rome, where he continued to be the principal partner of the founder of Opus Dei until his death in 1975.

He was consultant of various bodies of the Holy See, such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for the Clergy, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Pontifical committee for Social Communications. He served at the Second Vatican Council, first as president of the Antepreparatory Commission for the Laity and then as secretary of the Commission on the discipline of the clergy and as consultant of other commissions.

In 1975 he was chosen to succeed Saint Josemaría. When Opus Dei was erected as a personal prelature, the Holy Father appointed him prelate. In 1990 he was appointed bishop by John Paul II, who conferred episcopal ordination on him on 6 January 1991. He died in Rome on 23 March 1994.

He always felt a great love for Africa, which led him to encourage the setting up of numerous social and educational initiatives, such as the Centre Hospitalier Monkole (Kinshasa, Congo) and the Niger Foundation (Enugu, Nigeria).

On 27 September 2014 he was beatified in Madrid, his native city.

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