Vatican City, Dec 13, 2016 / 09:42 am
On hearing of the Dec. 12 death of Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, the Prelate of Opus Dei, Pope Francis sent a telegram Tuesday expressing his deep sympathy to the members of the organization and to Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz Braña, auxiliary vicar.
"I wish to make known to you and to all members of this prelature my deepest condolences," the Pope wrote Dec. 13, "at the same time that I unite to your action of giving thanks to God for his paternal and generous witness of his priestly and episcopal life."
Bishop Echevarría died in Rome Dec. 12 in the evening at the age of 84, several days after being hospitalized with pneumonia.
According to a Dec. 12 statement from the personal prelature, Bishop Echevarría was given the final sacraments that afternoon by his auxiliary, Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz.