The St. Josemaría Escrivá Historical Institute has just published Vol. 19 (2025) of the journal “Studia et Documenta”. This edition presents various research articles on the ecclesial, social and academic context surrounding the ordination of Saint Josemaría Escrivá in Zaragoza, coinciding with the centenary of this event. In addition, it includes studies, notes and documents on various aspects of the history of Opus Dei and its founder.
The monographic section features five studies that analyse various aspects related to the ordination of Saint Josemaría, his years in Zaragoza, and the formation he received during that period.
The first article, by Juan Ramón Royo, describes the ecclesiastical province of Zaragoza, characterised by its sheer size and whose seminarians mostly came from rural areas, with a low socioeconomic level. This is followed by a study by Santiago Casas on the governance of this archdiocese, the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and the relations between the priests and their bishop Juan Soldevila (1902-1923), with particular attention to the character and dynamics of the episcopacy in the period prior to the Second Vatican Council.
Fernando Crovetto then analyses the role of the Social School of Zaragoza, which contributed to the application in Spain of the social doctrine advocated by Pope Leo XIII. Some of its members were teachers of Saint Josemaría, and the importance given to work and workers by the members of this Social School could have influenced the young seminarian’s thinking. Meanwhile, Juan Francisco Baltar examines the university climate in Zaragoza, mainly at the Faculty of Law, where Escrivá studied, as it led him to meet young students with their existential concerns and spiritual needs.
The monograph closes with an article by José Luis González Gullón on the seminary years and the ordination of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, with particular attention to the religious and spiritual formation he received at the Saint Francis of Paola Seminary.
The Studi e Note section includes five research articles on various aspects of the history of Opus Dei and some of its members. Onésimo Díaz presents a biography of Florentino Pérez Embid (1918-1974) and how he experienced the message of the sanctification of work in his professional activity. Meanwhile, Cosimo Di Fazio and Alfredo Méndiz study the development of Opus Dei in Italy during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. Next, Federico M. Requena examines the perception of Opus Dei in the United States from its arrival in 1949 up to 1957, analysing the news published about this institution in various media outlets of the time, both Catholic and non-Catholic, the contexts in which this news was produced, and the reactions it provoked.
Next, Carlos Veci explores the figure of Víctor García Hoz, Professor of Pedagogy and supernumerary Opus Dei member, who perceived the economic, social and cultural changes of the 1960s as a challenge. This context, increasingly dominated by technology and social and moral disengagement, influenced the process of creating a pedagogical synthesis based on personalised education, and guided his commitment to the implementation of a network of Opus Dei schools. This section of the journal closes with a study by Rafael Jiménez Cataño on Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri in Mexico and her insertion in the Mexican sociocultural environment, through the adoption of a Mexican linguistic colloquialism.
In the Documenti section, Antonio Rodríguez Tovar publishes the correspondence between Josemaría Escrivá and Ernestina de Champourcin from 1959 to 1974, while Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias and Gonzalo Barbed analyse the correspondence between the clergyman Casimiro Morcillo and Josemaría Escrivá between 1931 and 1971.
In the Notiziario section, Beatriz Comella summarises the participation of female ISJE researchers at international congresses, while Alfredo Méndiz reports on the workshop held in Madrid on 14 June 2024 on university residences and Opus Dei between 1939 and 1962.
The journal closes with the Sezione Bibliografica, which includes recensions and bibliographic reviews, as well as a list of publications by and about Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer between 2018 and 2021.
