Álvaro del Portillo was born on March 11, 1914, in Madrid into a Christian family of average means. He was the third of eight siblings. His father, a lawyer, worked at an insurance agency. He studied at Nuestra Señora del Pilar High School in Madrid. In 1934, he completed his studies as a teaching assistant in Public Works and continued pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering. From January 1935, he worked as a teaching assistant in Public Works within official organizations.
On July 7, 1935, he applied for admission to Opus Dei. After the Spanish Civil War, on October 10, 1939, Josemaría Escrivá appointed him secretary general of Opus Dei, becoming his closest collaborator. In the early 1940s, he frequently traveled on weekends to various Spanish cities to promote Opus Dei among young people. Before his ordination to the priesthood on June 25, 1944, he completed his studies in Theology and earned a doctorate in Philosophy and Letters (History section) with a dissertation on Discoveries and Explorations in the Things of California, which he published in 1947.
During these years, he made several trips to Rome on behalf of the founder of Opus Dei, eventually moving there permanently in 1946. Soon after, he earned his doctorate in Canon Law with a thesis titled "A New Juridical State of Perfection: The Secular Institutes." He served as Consiliar of Opus Dei in Italy from 1948 to 1951 and as President of the Roman High School of the Holy Cross from 1948 to 1954. During this time, he was responsible for securing funding for the construction of Villa Tevere. He also promoted Opus Dei's activities in Rome and other Italian cities, while accompanying the Founder on his travels across various European countries.
At the Second Vatican Council, he participated as an expert in the work of several antepreparatory and preparatory commissions, also serving as secretary of the conciliar commission De discipline cleri et populi christiani. In 1964, he was appointed consultant to the Commission responsible for reforming the Code of Canon Law, and in 1966, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Between 1972 and 1975, he accompanied St. Josemaría on several trips to Spain, Portugal, and the Americas.
After the death of the founder, he was elected president general of Opus Dei in 1975. He completed the juridical process for Opus Dei to become a personal Prelature in 1982. One of his key initiatives was promoting the canonization process of the founder. He also published two books on the life and work of St. Josemaría. He continued to oversee the expansion of Opus Dei into new countries and made pastoral visits throughout Europe, as well as to various countries in the Americas, Asia, and Africa, where Opus Dei had established centers.
He succeeded Josemaría Escrivá as Chancellor the University of Navarra and the University of Piura. Between 1975 and 1994 he promoted the creation of other universities, such as the Universidad Panamericana (Mexico, 1978), the Universidad de la Sabana (Colombia, 1979), the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce (Rome, 1984), the Universidad de Los Andes (Chile, 1989) and the Universidad Austral (Argentina, 1991).
He participated as a synod father in the Extraordinary Synod of 1985. In 1991, he was ordained a bishop. He passed away in Rome on March 23, 1994, and Pope John Paul II prayed before his mortal remains on the day of his death. In June 2012, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints conferred on him the title of "Venerable." He was beatified in Madrid in September 2014.
