View source for Javier Echevarría Rodríguez

{{Short description|Spanish Catholic bishop}} {{family name hatnote|Echevarría|Rodríguez|lang=Spanish}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox Christian leader|type=Bishop|honorific-prefix=[[Excellency#Ecclesiastical use|His Excellency]], [[The Most Reverend]]|name=Javier Echevarría Rodríguez|title=Prelate of Opus Dei|image=JavierEchevarria.jpg|alt=|church=[[Catholic]]|archdiocese=|diocese=|see=[[Opus Dei]]|term=1994—2016|predecessor=[[Álvaro del Portillo]]|successor=[[Fernando Ocáriz Braña]]|other_post=[[Titular Bishop]] of [[Cilibia, Africa|Cilibia]] (1994-2016)
<!--   Orders   -->|ordination=7 August 1955|consecration=6 January 1995|consecrated_by=[[Pope John Paul II]]|rank=<!--   Personal details   -->|birth_date={{Birth date|df=yes|1932|6|14}}|birth_place=[[Madrid]], [[second Spanish republic|Spain]]|death_date={{Death date and age|2016|12|12|1932|6|14|df=y}}|death_place=[[Rome]], [[Italy]]|previous_post=|coat_of_arms=Coat of arms of Javier Echevarría Rodríguez.svg|motto=Deo Omnis Gloria|ordinated_by=}} '''Javier Echevarría Rodríguez''' (14 June 1932 – 12 December 2016) was a [[Catholic Church in Spain|Spanish Catholic]] bishop who served as the head of [[Opus Dei]] from 1994 until his death. He held doctorates in both civil and [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]].<ref name="bio" /><ref name="abc" />

Within the [[Roman Curia]], the governing body of the Catholic Church, he was a member of the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]]<ref name="bio" /> and the [[Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura]].<ref name="bio" />  He wrote a number of books on spirituality: ''Paths to God: Building a Christian Life in the 21st Century'', ''Para servir a la Iglesia'', ''Getsemaní'', ''Eucaristía y vida cristiana''. He also wrote his reminiscences of [[Josemaría Escrivá]]: ''Memoria del beato Josemaría.''

[[Pope Benedict XVI]] said on the fiftieth anniversary of Echevarria's ordination in 2005 that his pastoral work "provides effective help to the Church in her urgent evangelization of present-day society" and noted the prelate's concern for "culture and the sciences...the defense of life, the family and marriage, and the formation and pastoral care of young people."<ref name="b16letter">{{Cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en-ie/article/letter-of-benedict-xvi-to-the-prelate-of-opus-dei/|title=Letter of Benedict XVI to the Prelate of Opus Dei|website=opusdei.org|language=en|access-date=2018-12-22}}</ref> [[Pope Francis]] lauded his "constant service of love to the Church and souls", underlining his "fatherly testimony of priestly and episcopal life"{{r|rvcond|chpope}}.

== Formation ==
Echevarría Rodríguez was born in [[Madrid|Madrid, Spain]],<ref name="dw" /> on 14 June 1932.<ref name="sta" />  He began work as the [[Personal assistant|personal secretary]] of Josemaría Escrivá<ref name="abc" /> before being ordained a [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priest]] of [[Opus Dei]] on 7 August 1955.<ref name="bio" /><ref name="ch" />

In 1954 Echevarría earned a [[Doctor of Canon Law|Doctorate in Canon Law]] from the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas|Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'']].<ref>''Dios y Audacia: Mi Juventud Junto a San Josemaría'' by Julián Herranz Casado, 44.  https://books.google.com/books?id=W_ETvL52sJ0C&pg=PA44  Accessed 4 April 2013</ref>

Echevarría was appointed the Secretary General of Opus Dei in 1975,<ref name="abc" /><ref name="sta" /> upon the succession of Escrivá by [[Álvaro del Portillo]] as prelate, or head, of Opus Dei. Echevarría later became [[Vicar general|Vicar General]] in 1982, when Opus Dei became, on the pope's initiative, a [[Prelate|personal prelature]].{{r|bio}}

== Prelate of Opus Dei ==
With the death of del Portillo on 23 March 1994, a period of mourning followed. Rodríguez was elected by Opus Dei's General Council as the second prelate of Opus Dei.<ref name="bio" /><ref name="abc" /><ref name="sta" />  He was subsequently confirmed by the [[Holy See]] on 20 April 1994,<ref name="bio" /> and was then appointed [[Titular bishop|Titular Bishop]] of ''Cilibia'' by [[Pope John Paul II]] on 21 November 1994. He was [[consecrated]] a [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|bishop]] by the pope, with Bishops [[Giovanni Battista Re]] and [[Jorge María Mejía]] as co-consecrators, on 6 January 1995.<ref name="bio" /><ref name="ch" />

When he became prelate he stated that his pastoral priorities were evangelization in the areas of the family, youth and culture. During his term of office, the Opus Dei Prelature began stable formational activities in sixteen countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.<ref>From the beginning of his ministry as prelate, his priorities were evangelization in the areas of the family, youth and culture. He oversaw the beginning of the Prelature’s stable formational activities in sixteen countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka</ref> He "helped steer Opus Dei toward a period of normalization after the controversies surrounding the canonization of Escrivá in 2002 and then the turbulence of the ''Da Vinci Code''."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/12/12/leader-helped-normalize-opus-dei-dies-84/|title=Leader Who Helped "Normalize" Opus Dei Dies at 94|website=cruxnow.com|access-date=2018-12-22|archive-date=22 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222221439/https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/12/12/leader-helped-normalize-opus-dei-dies-84/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Echevarría Rodríguez served as the chancellor of the [[University of Navarra]] in Spain{{r|grchan}}, the [[University of Asia and the Pacific]] in the Philippines, and various other universities under the spiritual care of Opus Dei.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}}

He participated in the General Assembly of the [[Synod|Synod of Bishops]] for [[United States|America]] in 1997 and of [[Europe]] in 1999, and also of the [[General Ordinary Assembly]] of 2001 and 2005. On Tuesday, 18 September 2012, he was appointed by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] to serve as one of the papally-appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the [[Synod of Bishops (Catholic)|Synod of Bishops]] on the New [[Evangelization]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/29687.php?index=29687&po_date=18.09.2012&lang=en|title=press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/29687.php?index=29687&po_date=18.09.2012&lang=en& - Translator|website=www.microsofttranslator.com|access-date=2018-12-22}}</ref>

On 9 July 2005, Pope Benedict XVI greeted Echevarria on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination, expressing his "esteem and affection":

{{Blockquote|Governing your Prelature and contemplating in it the action of God’s grace, you never cease exhorting its members—with your example, with your writings, with your words and your pastoral trips—to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose (Acts 11:23).

When you foster the eagerness for personal sanctity and the apostolic zeal of your priests and lay people, not only do you see the flock that has been entrusted to you grow, but you provide an effective help to the Church in her urgent evangelization of present-day society.

In the terrain of culture and the sciences, you strive to spread the Christian message in all environments, as is clearly seen in the recently established Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

You bear in your heart the defense of life, the family and marriage, and the formation and pastoral care of young people.<ref name=b16letter/>}}

== Late life and death ==
In 2014, at age 82, he appointed priest [[Fernando Ocáriz Braña|Fernando Ocáriz]] as Auxiliary [[Vicar]], considering an "increase in the work of government required of the Prelate", as well as his age.<ref name="vaux" /> The Auxiliary Vicar is a position to be filled when needed, holding executive authority, foreseen in the statutes of Opus Dei.<ref name="vaux2" />

On 5 December 2016 he was admitted to the [[Università Campus Bio-Medico|Campus Bio-Medico University]] Hospital<ref name="abc" /> due to a [[respiratory infection]],<ref name="nof" /> where he was treated with [[antibiotics]]. On 12 December his condition aggravated leading to a [[respiratory failure]]<ref name="sta" /> that ultimately caused his death at 21:20 [[Central European Time|CET]].<ref name="nof" />

The day after Echevarría's death, [[Pope Francis]] wrote Ocáriz giving condolences to him and all members of Opus Dei, thanking God for his "constant service of love to the Church and souls", underlining his "fatherly testimony of priestly and episcopal life"{{r|rvcond|chpope}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en/article/telegram-from-pope-francis/|title=Telegram from Pope Francis|website=opusdei.org|language=en|access-date=2018-12-22}}</ref>

Javier's remains were buried inside the crypt of the [https://stjosemaria.org/our-lady-of-peace-prelatic-church/ Prelatic Church of Our Lady of Peace] in Rome, next to his predecessor, [[Álvaro del Portillo]].

== Works ==
He wrote works on spirituality such as:

* ''Memoria del beato Josemaría'' – reminiscences of Blessed Josemaria<ref name="bio" />
* ''Itinerarios de vida cristiana'' – reflections around the turn of the millennium on the ways of Christian life<ref name="bio" /><ref name="abc" />
* ''Para servir a la Iglesia'' – a homily on serving the church<ref name="bio" />
* ''Getsemaní'' – about praying in union with Christ in his passion<ref name="bio" /><ref name="abc" />
* ''Eucaristía y vida cristiana'' – about the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of a Christian<ref name="bio" />{{r|bookecl}}
* ''Por Cristo, con Él y en Él: escritos sobre san Josemaría'', Madrid, Palabra, 2007, 1ª, 234 pp.
* ''Vivir la Santa Misa'', Madrid, Rialp, 2010, 1ª, 196 pp.
* ''Creo, creemos: textos procedentes de las Cartas pastorales dirigidas a los fieles de la Prelatura del Opus Dei durante el Año de la fe (2012-2013)'', Madrid, Rialp, 2014, 1ª, 127 pp.
* ''Dirigir empresas con sentido cristiano'', Pamplona, Eunsa, 2015, 1ª, 103 pp.

== Some excerpts from his works ==
[[File:Javierechevarriaprelateofopusdeiinvalladolid.jpg|left|thumb|180x180px|Bishop Echevarria in a get-together with the faithful of the [[Opus Dei]] prelature and their friends]]

* Christianity is God's nearness to man. It is a close friendship and an intimate relationship between God and man. It expresses the familiarity of a beloved son welcomed with indescribable joy, music, celebration and a great banquet (cf. Lk 15: 22–24).— from ''Eucaristia y vida cristiana''
* Love is the substance of happiness. To love and to know oneself loved is the only true response to the ultimate anxieties of the human heart...Augustine of Hippo briefly expressed this in writing: “Pondus meus, amor meus”. My love is my weight, that which gives me solidity, attracts me and exalts me. It transmits to me height and depth, it is the origin of my peace.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en-us/article/eucharist-and-christian-life-a-new-book-by-bishop-javier-echevarria/|title="Eucharist and Christian Life", a new book by Bishop Javier Echevarría|website=opusdei.org|language=en|access-date=2018-12-22}}</ref>
* "To all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God" (Jn 1:12). For a Christian, this is not just a way of speaking or calling. Awareness of divine filiation is rooted in a divine gift that transforms a person from within. St. John puts it this way: "See what love the Father has for us, that He has called us sons of God, and so we are!...We are truly children of God" (1 Jn 3:1–2). St. Josemaria concludes that "whoever is unaware of this is unaware of his innermost truth;" he has not yet discovered the deepest reality of his being, nor the meaning of his existence on this earth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opusdei.org/en-us/article/bishop-javier-echevarria-speaks-of-divine-filiation/|title=Bishop Javier Echevarria speaks of divine filiation|website=opusdei.org|language=en|access-date=2018-12-22}}</ref>
* The secret of the apostolic zeal of a disciple of Christ is rooted in his love for the Master. This is what moves him to give his life for others, to spend it in helping them know the divine Word and to live according to the imperatives of the Love of God. His zeal for souls is born from a love for Christ, which like all true love, implies identification with the person loved.{{r|bookecl}}
* On 10 October 2012, during the Seventh General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops he offered this intervention:<ref>Holy See Press Office in https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_25_xiii-ordinaria-2012/02_inglese/b12_02.html#-_H._Exc._Rev._Mons._Javier_ECHEVARRÍA_RODRÍGUEZ,_Titular_Bishop_of_Cilibia,_Prelate_of_the_Personal_Prelature_of_Opus_Dei_(SPAIN)_</ref>

{{Quote|The People of God would like the Bishops and priests to be masters of holiness, precisely because they seek it on a daily basis, through the sacramental life and through their own ministry. They must be men who pray with faith, who passionately love the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of the Confession, and who live them with sincere piety, to enrich themselves with graces and to be, therefore, bearers of the Good News to other priests and to all the faithful. Using those methods instituted by Jesus Christ in order to identify oneself with Him ensures that the faithful, listening to priests, listen to the Lord; seeing them pray, they in turn are moved to prayer. Aware that they frequently turn to Confession, they too will seek sacramental forgiveness.}}<!-- It is beneficial also to reflect on the example of many saints, the Curate of Ars, Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Saint Josemaría Escrivá, and on the more recentexample of the Blessed John Paul II. As Benedict XVI reminds us, they have left a living example of love for the Sacrament of Penitence, and can reinforce the awareness of having to be Good Shepherds, who know how to give their life for their sheep. By also encouraging presbyters to regularly sit in the confessional, many souls will be cleansed of their sins, and from this ministry vocations for the seminary and for the religious life, as well as vocations for good fathers and mothers of families will bloom. It is also interesting to pay attention to homilies from the doctrinal point of view and with the “gift of tongues”. For many faithful, the Sunday Holy Mass, with its Homily, is the only occasion where they will hear the message of Christ. With evermore renewed commitment, preaching will be very effective, above all if it is directed also at one’s own soul: if one lives what one says and preaches what one lives. -->

== References ==
{{reflist|30em|refs=<ref name="abc">{{cite news|last1=Boo|first1=Juan Vicente|title=Muere el prelado del Opus Dei, Javier Echevarría, último gran colaborador de San Josemaría Escrivá|url=http://www.abc.es/sociedad/abci-muere-prelado-opus-monsenor-javier-echevarria-201612122259_noticia.html|access-date=13 December 2016|date=12 December 2016|language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="bio">{{cite web|title=Biography of the Prelate|url=http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/biography-6/|website=Opus Dei|access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="bookecl">{{cite web|title="Eucharist and Christian Life", a new book by Bishop Javier Echevarría|url=http://www.opusdei.us/en-us/article/eucharist-and-christian-life-a-new-book-by-bishop-javier-echevarria/|website=Opus Dei|access-date=13 December 2016|date=10 October 2005}}</ref>

<ref name="ch">{{cite web|title=Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bechr.html|website=Catholic-Hierarchy|access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="chpope">{{cite news|title=Pope Francis has expressed condolences to Opus Dei members following the death of Bishop Javier Echevarria|url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/12/13/pope-remembers-opus-dei-head-as-paternal-and-generous-witness/|access-date=13 December 2016|agency=Catholic Herald|date=13 December 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="dw">{{cite news|title=Opus Dei leader Javier Echevarria dies|url=http://www.dw.com/en/opus-dei-leader-javier-echevarria-dies/a-36746552|access-date=13 December 2016|publisher=DW|date=13 December 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="grchan">{{cite web|title=Cancillería|url=http://www.unav.edu/web/conoce-la-universidad/organizacion/cancilleria|publisher=Universidad de Navarra|access-date=13 December 2016|language=es|archive-date=20 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120202403/http://www.unav.edu/web/conoce-la-universidad/organizacion/cancilleria|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="nof">{{cite web|title=Bishop Javier Echevarria has passed away|url=http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/bishop-javier-echevarria-has-passed-away/|website=Opus Dei|access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="rvcond">{{cite news|title=Pésame del Papa por la muerte de mons. Echevarría, Prelado del Opus Dei|url=http://es.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/12/13/p%c3%a9same__del_papa_por_la_muerte_de_mons_echevarr%c3%ada_/1278820|access-date=13 December 2016|agency=Vatican Radio|date=13 December 2016|language=es}}</ref>

<ref name="sta">{{cite news|title=Opus Dei, morto il prelato Javier Echevarria|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2016/12/13/italia/cronache/opus-dei-morto-il-prelato-javier-echevarria-z9BRhhHVTzHGT5uI9u0yVO/pagina.html|access-date=13 December 2016|agency=La Stampa|date=13 December 2016|language=it}}</ref>

<ref name="vaux">{{cite web|title=Appointments of an Auxiliary Vicar and a new Vicar General of the Prelature|url=http://opusdei.org/en-us/article/nominations-of-an-auxiliary-vicar-and-a-new-vicar-general-of-the-prelature/|website=Opus Dei|access-date=13 December 2016|date=12 December 2014}}</ref>

<ref name="vaux2">{{cite web|last1=Baura|first1=Eduardo|title=The Auxiliary Vicar in Church law for the Prelature of Opus Dei|url=http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/the-auxiliary-vicar-in-the-law-of-the-church-for-the-prelature-of-opus-dei/|website=opusdei.us|access-date=13 December 2016}}</ref>}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}} {{commonscat}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120205211527/http://www.fluvium.org/textos/opusdei/OpD164.htm Mons. Javier Echevarría: Prelado del Opus] – a brief biography and video (in Spanish)
* [http://www.opusdei.ph/sec.php?s=22 Monthly letter of the Prelate of Opus Dei to the faithful of Opus Dei and cooperators]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bechr.html Catholic Hierarchy page on Bishop Echevarria]

{{S-start}} {{S-rel|ca}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Álvaro del Portillo]]}} {{S-ttl|title=Prelate of [[Opus Dei]]|years=20 April 1994 - 12 December 2016}} {{S-aft|after=Msgr. [[Fernando Ocáriz Braña|Fernando Ocáriz]]}}

{{S-bef|before=[[Víctor Manuel López Forero]]}} {{S-tul|title=Bishop of [[Cilibia, Africa|Cilibia]]|years=21 November 1994 - 12 December 2016}} {{S-aft|after=[[Eduard Kava]]}}

{{S-end}}

{{Opus Dei}} {{Authority control}}