Msgr. Javier Echevarría died in Rome at 9:20 p.m. on Monday night. He was hospitalized since December 5 due to a lung infection. His condition worsened in the last hours, triggering respiratory failure.
Echevarría was 84 years old. He was born in Madrid in 1932. There he met St. Josemaría, for whom he was his secretary from 1953 to 1975.
MSGR. JAVIER ECHEVARRíA
Prelate of Opus Dei
'His message is that everyone needs to learn to be wherever they are, sanctifying everything there: their work, their family ties, their friendships, their contact with every person they meet.â?
In 1994 he was elected prelate of Opus Dei. John Paul II ordained him a bishop on January 6 1995 in St. Peter's Basilica.
For years he encouraged people to seek God in ordinary tasks. He also fostered projects throughought the world, especially in the fields of education and social works.
The provisional head of Opus Dei will now be auxiliary vicar Fernando Ocáriz. He will convene an elective congress to choose a new prelate. The election has to be confirmed by the pope.
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