Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz / Photo credit: Flickr Opus Dei Communications Office
Denver Newsroom, Sep 12, 2022 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz, has asked the members of the Catholic institution for their prayers for the reform process ordered by Pope Francis, which took effect Aug. 4.
“Continue to pray for the work that the pope has entrusted to us to adapt the Statutes of the Work to what is indicated in the motu proprio ‘Ad charisma tuendum,’” the prelate said in a message published Sept. 10.
“We have already started — in the General Council and the Central Advisory — the appropriate studies to carry it out,” he said.
“During the days spent in the Holy Land, I have kept you especially present in my prayer, knowing that I am accompanied by yours at the same time,” Ocáriz wrote.
What did Pope Francis order for Opus Dei?
On July 22, the Vatican published the apostolic letter in the form of a motu proprio titled “Ad charisma tuendum” (To safeguard the charism), whereby Pope Francis ordered a reform of Opus Dei.
Among the pope’s provisions are that the prelate who directs Opus Dei from now on will no longer be a bishop; the institution must adapt its statutes and present an annual report; and it will no longer answer to the dicastery for bishops but to the dicastery for the clergy.
Opus Dei explained that the decision that the prelate may no longer be a bishop is “an initiative and decision of the Holy See” to reinforce “the charismatic dimension” instead of the hierarchical dimension of the institution.
Ocáriz, 77, is not a bishop and, due to the pontifical document, will not be consecrated as such.
In a question-and-answer section of Opus Dei’s website in Spain, it states that this does not “directly introduce changes in the form of government of the prelature, nor in the relations of the prelature’s authorities with the bishops,” which means that it will continue to function as before.
By establishing that an annual report must be presented on the situation of the prelature and the development of its apostolic work, the previous regulation that required it every five years has been changed.
The pontifical document also requires the adjustment of the statutes, which must be proposed by Opus Dei itself and must then be approved by the competent Vatican bodies.
What is Opus Dei?
Opus Dei is a personal prelature, the only one in the Catholic Church. It was founded in Spain by St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer in 1928 and is present in 68 countries.
The overall head of the prelature is the prelate, who is appointed by the pope and who governs the institution as a jurisdiction, similar to a bishop who governs his diocese or assigned territory.
Opus Dei means “Work of God” in Latin, which is why its members usually refer to it as “The Work.” Its special emphasis or charism is sanctification through daily work.
In Opus Dei there are priests, celibate lay persons who are called numeraries and associates, and supernumeraries who are married members.
Opus Dei is not a sect.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Denver, Colo., Aug 26, 2022 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
Each of the 20 churchmen being installed as cardinals this week is a kindred spirit of Pope Francis in varying respects, as would be expected since it w… […]
A Vatican flag, with the incorrect design likely drawn from Wikipedia, and the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. / Bohumil Petrik/ACI
St. Louis, Mo., Apr 8, 2023 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
The flag of Vatican City, with its distinctive yellow and white, is instantly recognizable to many Catholics. Likely far fewer people, though, have scrutinized the papal coat of arms on the right-hand side, instead taking the intricate design — which includes famous crossed keys — for granted.
As it turns out, there’s a good chance that the coats of arms on many of the Vatican flags you’ve seen out in the world are rendered incorrectly. And it took until 2023 for the internet to start taking notice.
Imagine you wanted to print your own version of the Vatican flag. Where would you go to find a high-quality picture of one? If you’re like most internet users, your first stop would probably not be the Vatican’s official (but admittedly outdated) vatican.va website. You’re probably going to pull up Wikipedia, one of the world’s most visited websites and an endless storehouse of free image content. Flagmakers the world over appear to have done so over the years.
Imagine many people’s surprise, then, to discover that the image of the “Flag of Vatican City” displayed on Wikipedia has been wrong several times over the years, most recently from 2017 to 2022. (It was also wrong from 2006–2007.)
What is “wrong” about these flags, you might ask? It’s a small detail in the grand scheme of things but easy to spot once you know about it. The erroneous Wikipedia file includes a red disk at the bottom of the papal tiara as well as a different shade of yellow on portions of the coat of arms.
The anonymous Wikipedia editor who changed the look of the flag in 2017 wrote that he or she did so for “color correction” purposes, noting that the Vatican’s coat of arms includes the red at the bottom of the tiara. The only problem? The Vatican’s official flag design renders the coat of arms differently, with the circular bottom of the tiara in white.
The image was reverted to the correct one in 2022, but the damage was done. A casual internet search will turn up dozens of Vatican flags for sale that clearly used the incorrect image downloaded from Wikipedia. The incorrect flag has even made its way into emojis. (This whole situation gained attention last month after a Reddit user made a post about it.)
An inexpensive Vatican flag available for sale on Amazon that makes use of the incorrect Wikipedia flag design. Amazon/Screenshot
Father William Becker, pastor at St. Columbanus Parish in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, read the Reddit post with interest and amusement. Becker, a self-described “flag guy,” has studied the Vatican flag for years and even wrote an entire book about it. He has fond memories of raising the yellow and white colors over his alma mater, the North American College in Rome.
Becker told CNA that the saga of the Vatican flag on Wikipedia demonstrates a need for the Vatican to step in and clarify exactly what its flag should look like, especially considering the fact that Catholic churches all over the world display the Vatican flag.
It was precisely this lack of clarity on the official design of the Vatican flag that led Becker to create a website detailing, as best as he could, the correct design for the flag.
“Cultural communities in general have turned to flags in a stunning way,” Becker commented, citing in part a proliferation of cheaply made, mass-produced flags. And, anecdotally, there seems to be an ever-increasing interest in the Vatican flag as a way for Catholics to claim an identity, whether by flying a flag at home, waving it at a papal event, or by putting one in their social media profile picture.
The Vatican flag. Bohumil Petrik/CNA
Perhaps surprisingly, the Vatican flag is less than 100 years old, as is Vatican City itself. For more than a millennium before 1870, the pope ruled over the Papal States, large regions mainly within present-day Italy. After the Vatican lost control of the Papal States, it found itself a tiny island surrounded by an acrimonious Italy. It took nearly 60 years until the ratification of the Lateran Accords of 1929 ushered in harmony between the Vatican and Italy, and the creation of the world’s smallest sovereign country.
In the days of the Papal States, many different flags were used, but the yellow and white color scheme was a common feature. Becker said the modern design was first used by the merchant fleet in the Papal States from 1825 to 1870. In 1929, that design was chosen as the new flag of Vatican City, the sovereign country.
“It took a while in 1929 to get some flags made. The techniques of mass production weren’t available yet, and so it would have been a matter of sewing up some flags and fitting out buildings with flag staffs,” Becker noted, saying that during this time and for years afterward there was quite a bit of variation between the Vatican flags people flew, perhaps even more so than today.
“That’s kind of common with other countries too, especially those that don’t really take pains to standardize their design. [Nowadays] a flagmaker is likely to go to a source like Wikipedia, and it may vary in its accuracy,” Becker told CNA.
The same flag chosen in 1929 was reconfirmed in a revised Vatican constitution, issued by Pope John Paul II in 2000. The original Vatican flag was actually square, as indeed the official version is today. Since roughly the 1960s, though, buildings began to fly oblong state flags that followed Italy’s flag proportions, probably because most Vatican flags at the time were mass-produced there.
The flag has special significance beyond the walls of Vatican City as a marker for the Vatican’s extraterritorial properties, of which there are more than a dozen. These properties, which include major basilicas such as St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major, are marked as the Vatican’s through their flying of the papal flag.
Becker said he hopes his website will serve as a helpful resource for anyone looking for the exact Vatican flag design, at least until the Vatican issues some kind of clarification on what exactly the flag should look like.
“The papal flag is interesting because on the one hand, the Vatican is such a small state, but the papal flag is seen all over the world. Anywhere there’s a Catholic church, you might be likely to run into a papal flag,” he said.
“It would be nice if somebody at the Holy See could, through their website or wherever, make some design specifications more available … design specifications that manufacturers could rely on a bit more.”
Charisma is a rare gift. Keeping the charismatic dimension alive supports world building. Opus Dei has a mission to embark upon. All the best to Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz and his fellow charismatic team mates. God bless.
Pope Francis has finally corrected the canonical anomaly allowed by St. Pope John Paul II that is the Opus Dei. This correction though is not comprehensive enough, Opus Dei should cease to be a prelature that made it elitist and be just like any organization of clergy and lay like the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. This is a similar action to the correction earlier made by Pope Francis to the liturgical anomaly introduced by Pope Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum by rescinding it in Traditionis Custodes. This Pope is indeed good at righting the wrong for the good of the church and the greater glory of God.
Lest we forget – in the book ‘The Davinci Code’ the guy who goes hither thither and yon killing the people who have figured out the Church’s nefarious 2000 year old plot is an albino monk who is a member of Opus Dei.
As a Cooperator for the last 12 years, I have lived a lifestyle in-accordance to the teaching of Saint JoseMaria. I have been blessed with weekly circles and monthly meditations, Mass, confession and a great joy to be around men that share my love for the Lord. It has been a wonderful way of life. I have followed Pope Francis attack on OD and continue to feel confused and very upset. I can share many thoughts but I always come back to my initial thought; how can this Pope change the directive of Saint John Paul II. It is sad that Pope Francis does not see the big picture and benefits of OD. Last few years has been terrible for the church as the flock has not returned from COVID. OD has been steady and strong. SJM is always with me and I will do my best to continue to pray for Pope Francis that he sees the good OD has offered those seeking more focus on our faith.
Ad Charisma tuendum
Opus Dei
Habemus Papam
Motu Proprio
Domine non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meam sed tantum dic verbo et sanabitur anima meam.
Charisma is a rare gift. Keeping the charismatic dimension alive supports world building. Opus Dei has a mission to embark upon. All the best to Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz and his fellow charismatic team mates. God bless.
Pope Francis has finally corrected the canonical anomaly allowed by St. Pope John Paul II that is the Opus Dei. This correction though is not comprehensive enough, Opus Dei should cease to be a prelature that made it elitist and be just like any organization of clergy and lay like the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi. This is a similar action to the correction earlier made by Pope Francis to the liturgical anomaly introduced by Pope Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum by rescinding it in Traditionis Custodes. This Pope is indeed good at righting the wrong for the good of the church and the greater glory of God.
Lest we forget – in the book ‘The Davinci Code’ the guy who goes hither thither and yon killing the people who have figured out the Church’s nefarious 2000 year old plot is an albino monk who is a member of Opus Dei.
I skipped the movie.
As a Cooperator for the last 12 years, I have lived a lifestyle in-accordance to the teaching of Saint JoseMaria. I have been blessed with weekly circles and monthly meditations, Mass, confession and a great joy to be around men that share my love for the Lord. It has been a wonderful way of life. I have followed Pope Francis attack on OD and continue to feel confused and very upset. I can share many thoughts but I always come back to my initial thought; how can this Pope change the directive of Saint John Paul II. It is sad that Pope Francis does not see the big picture and benefits of OD. Last few years has been terrible for the church as the flock has not returned from COVID. OD has been steady and strong. SJM is always with me and I will do my best to continue to pray for Pope Francis that he sees the good OD has offered those seeking more focus on our faith.