PODCAST | Opus Dei: A Pathway to Holiness
October 2 marks the anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei by St. Josemaria Escriva in 1928. St. Josemaria saw and understood that the laity, not only priests and religious, are called by God to a life of holiness through their work, family, and personal interests, married or single. He set out to found Opus Dei as a means to offer a spirituality for the laity and the means to help them persevere in their calling to live and work as one more in the world.
In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo talks about Opus Dei—its beginnings and mission—and explains the essence of the vocation to holiness, specifically the vocation to Opus Dei. He also explains what it means to have a secular outlook—a characteristic of the lay faithful who are called to sanctify temporal affairs in the world by bringing Christ into that world.
Today Opus Dei has thousands of members around the world and many more who are just discovering it and want to know more about it. If you would like a brief introduction to Opus Dei, what it is and does, this talk is for you.
To learn more about Opus Dei, visit www.opusdei.org/en-us/.
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
