Mgr. Fernando Ocáriz was born in Paris on October 27, 1944, to a Spanish family exiled in France during the Civil War (1936-1939). He is the youngest of eight siblings. He graduated in Physics from the University of Barcelona in 1966.
He graduated with a licentiate in Theology from the Lateran University in 1969 and earned a doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarre in 1971. He was ordained to the priesthood in the same year..
Since 1986, he has served as a consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In 1989, he joined the Pontifical Theological Academy. During the 1980s, he was one of the founding professors of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, where he held the position of Full Professor (now emeritus) of Fundamental Theology.
On April 23, 1994, he was appointed Vicar General of the Prelature of Opus Dei, and on December 9, 2014, he was appointed Auxiliary Vicar. He has also served as a consultant to the Congregation for the Clergy since 2003 and to the Pontifical Committee for the Promotion of the New Evangelization since 2011.
On January 23, 2017, Pope Francis appointed him Prelate of Opus Dei, after confirming the election made by the Third Elective Congress following the death of the previous prelate, Bishop Javier Echevarría, in December 2016. A total of 194 members of the Prelature participated in the vote.
He has written several essays on philosophy and theology in various languages, particularly in the areas of the philosophy of history and Christology.
For the past 22 years he has accompanied the previous prelate, Javier Echevarría, on his pastoral visits to more than 70 countries.
