Navarro by birth, lineage and conviction, Full Professor and academic of Pharmacy, Jesús Larralde turns ninety years old, with the same smile as always. And the fact is that, although the passage of time produces a natural wear and tear, old age cannot destroy that rich facial expression that sample shows the greatness of spirit of happy people. And Don Jesús is, indeed he is!

Larralde likes to repeat, with a touch of irony, that the biggest problem he has had in his life is "having had too much fun". The comment might seem at least exaggerated in a man, like him, who was orphaned by his mother at a young age.

During the civil war, as a teenager, he had to hide in a lost village and take care of his two brothers and his cow, the Musunika. Don Jesús studied in the ruined and starving Madrid of the forties; he had to set up from nothing, together with Félix Álvarez de la Vega, the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra, and so many other things. He is a survivor.

But his extraordinary capacity for work and his selfless spirit of service allowed Larralde to overcome these setbacks with the simplicity of someone who thinks he is not doing anything exceptional.

Born on the day of San Saturnino in the Paseo de Valencia -symbol of Christmas-, Jesús Larralde attended the high school diploma at the high school Bendecido de Tudela. At the end of the war he moved to Madrid, with his soul friend Jesús Basarte, to study Pharmacy and Chemistry. A few months later, he met St. Josemaría Escrivá and joined Opus Dei in 1940.

After graduating from the Central University, he thought of dedicating himself to the business, like his father Don Amancio, but, wisely advised by Álvaro del Portillo, who knew him well and appreciated him, he decided to apply to Chairs. "Jesús: you -these were more or less the revealing words of the later Chancellor- one day you will be Full Professor in the university that will be set up in Navarra".

And so it happened. When in 1966, already Full Professor in Santiago de Compostela, Isidoro Rasines offered him the possibility of joining the UN to promote the recently created School of Pharmacy, Jesús replied that he had already known for more than twenty years that he would end up working in that university center.

His fifteen years in Galicia, from 1951 to 1966, left an indelible mark on him. His typically Navarrese character - tenacious, quick, agile, impetuous and extroverted - was molded to the typical gentleness of the people of the finis terrae, lovers of smooth and undulating forms, like their mountains, without edges or steep slopes. (...) Dean for twenty years of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Navarra, thousands of professionals have passed through his hands today spread throughout our country, as well as a handful of disciples who teach in various Spanish universities. After a long academic life dedicated to research, with important discoveries in the field of nutrition, published in the legendary journal Nature, Jesús Larralde reached his retirement in 1990. With the same joy as always, he was able to retire from his university work and move into the background. But he did not remain inactive, but began to devote most of his time to helping those in need (...).

Today, those of us who know and love him also give thanks for having crossed our path with this Navarrese of pure stock, with a great soul and a noble heart. Happy birthday, Larralde!