The news that Pope Francis has approved the canonisation of both Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII, is very good news for all who hold the Church and the world dear. Pope John XXIII for his courage and wisdom in calling Vatican Council II, a milestone in the Church’s renewal in the modern era, and John Paul II for the continuation of this renewal and his apostolate among the faithful. What many newspapers did not report, and that is why I wish to highlight this, is that in the concomitant decree, Pope Francis also approved the beatification of Fr Alvaro del Portillo, among others. The miracle associated with his beatification is posted on YouTube for anyone interested. Who was this unknown priest?

Alvaro del Portillo was born in Madrid on 11 March 1914. He was the third of eight children in a devout Catholic family. He studied engineering and began working professionally in that field. To his doctorate in engineering he later added doctorates in history and canon law. In 1935, del Portillo joined Opus Dei, which had been founded by St Josemaría Escrivá seven years before. In keeping with his vocation to Opus Dei, he sought to sanctify his professional work and daily duties, and he carried out a broad apostolate with his classmates and colleagues. He would soon become St Josemaría’s strongest support, and remained so for almost 40 years. On 25 June 1944, del Portillo was ordained one of the first three priests of Opus Dei. From then on he dedicated himself to pastoral ministry, serving the members of Opus Dei and many others. In 1946 he moved to Rome with St Josemaría, where he served on Opus Dei’s General Council until 1975. During his years in Rome, the Holy See entrusted a number of tasks to him, which he carried out with great dedication.

He was a consultor to several congregations and councils of the Holy See, such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for the Clergy, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He took part in the Second Vatican Council in various capacities, first as head of the ante-preparatory Commission on the Laity and then as secretary to the Commission on the Discipline of the Clergy, and also as a consultor to other commissions. His books Faithful and Laity in the Church (1969) and On the Priesthood (1970) are largely the fruit of that experience. As a member of the Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law, he also helped draft the current Code, promulgated by John Paul II in 1983. On 15 September 1975, Fr del Portillo was elected St Josemaría’s first successor.

When Opus Dei was established as a personal prelature on 28 November 1982, Pope John Paul II appointed him Prelate of Opus Dei. The Holy Father later ordained him bishop on 6 January 1991. Bishop del Portillo worked diligently to serve the Church by extending the apostolates of Opus Dei, and his governance was characterized by great fidelity to St Josemaría and his message. During his 19 years at the head of Opus Dei, the work of the prelature started in 20 new countries. His dedication to the mission he had received was rooted in a deep sense of his divine filiation, one of St Josemaría’s key teachings. His zeal to win souls for Christ was reflected in his Episcopal motto: Regnare Christum volumus! (We want Christ to reign!). Early in the morning of 23 March 1994, God called his good and faithful servant to Himself. Bishop del Portillo had returned only a few hours before from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he had followed Jesus’ footsteps from Nazareth to the Holy Sepulchre. He had celebrated his last Mass on earth in the Church of the Cenacle in Jerusalem. Later that day, Pope John Paul II came to pray before Bishop del Portillo’s remains, which now lie in the crypt of the Church of the Prelature, Our Lady of Peace at Bruno Buozzi 75, Rome.

I write this not only for historical accuracy but also because I have a special link with this man. One day, on the penultimate week before the last general election, right in the middle of the campaign, my younger 17- year-old daughter, Gillian, developed an acute pain in her right side. At first, not considering it anything out of the ordinary for a female of her age, the pain quickly increased to the point that she was confined to bed. On examining her, it was evident that something was wrong there. Provisionally diagnosing acute appendicitis, my wife and I took her to Mater Dei Hospital where the admitting surgeon was unsure about appendicitis being the cause of the pain. On carrying out an ultrasound scan, an 8cm by 5 cm solid cystic (? dermoid) tumour was seen in her right ovary. Another ultrasound was repeated in a different department the day after her admission and there was no doubt about the fact! The gynaecologist advised us that it had to be removed along with her right ovary, as there was a danger of torsion. Blood cancer markers were negative, so it was probably a benign solid cystic mass. With this information in hand and her “A” levels round the corner, we opted to delay operation for the removal of the mass and ovary to 28 May, the day after she finished her “A” level exams although the gynaecologist wanted to operate her earlier because of the manifest danger of torsion. Orders were explicit that if any sign of torsion were to appear during any period till the day of the elective operation, she would immediately be operated on as an emergency procedure, in effect terminating her exams. I prayed fervently to Fr Alvaro during this period both for the pathology to go away and for her to successfully finish her exams. I prayed to others too but it was mostly to Fr Alvaro. The exams thankfully over (in retrospect successfully), she was admitted to MDH on 28 May to be operated on the following day. As part of her pre-operation procedure, the ultrasound was repeated. The examining radiologist was however very surprised when he could not find any trace of the growth at all! Nor could it be felt on abdominal examination as it had been previously. He consulted his colleagues and the gynaecologists in disbelief and she was discharged home to the relief of us all!

Now I am not claiming anything unusual happened at all except that I have to point out that it is medically very unusual for a 5cm x 8cm solid (? dermoid) ovarian cystic mass this size, to disappear spontaneously by itself. Nonetheless, I am grateful to everyone at hospital for the help and as a special appreciation to Fr Alvaro I have now made the story public!

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