Pope Francis has named Fernando Ocáriz Braña ;(72) prelate of Opus Dei. The pope confirmed the election of the third elective congress of the prelature on the same day.
He was born in Paris on October 27, 1944, to a Spanish family exiled in France due to the Civil War (1936-1939). He is the youngest of eight children. ;
He graduated with a degree in Physical Sciences in 1966. He received a license in Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1969 and a doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarre in 1971, the year he was ordained a priest. ;
In the 1960s, as a theology student, he lived in Rome alongside St. Josemaría, the Founder of Opus Dei. ;
In his first few years as a priest, he was especially involved in ministry with young people and university students.
Until yesterday, he was the ;auxiliary vicar of Opus Dei. Now he becomes the third successor of St. Josemaria at the head of the prelature, following the death of Javier Echevarría, this past December 12th.
