Rome, Italy, Aug 3, 2011 / 13:47 pm
He may be nearly 89 years old, but Father Fernando Valenciano can still recall with crystal clarity the day over seven decades ago when his life changed forever.
“After the war had ended in Spain, in 1939, I met a young man who studied law and he told me that he wanted to introduce me to a priest by the name of Josemaria.”
That priest was St. Josemaria Escriva, who had founded Opus Dei 11 years earlier. Their encounter lasted only a few minutes. Its legacy, though, has shaped the rest of Fr. Fernando’s life.
“He explained to me that Opus Dei was a group of consecrated people, that it was a form of serving God in the world, of being in the world, everyone serving God in their place in the world, sanctifying their tasks, as families, as professionals. That’s what he told me and nothing more.”