Álvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano (11 March 1914 – 23 March 1994) was a Spanish Catholic bishop and engineer who served as the prelate of Opus Dei between 1982 and 1994.

Church leaders Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Carlo Caffarra have praised Portillo as a faithful servant of God. John Paul II referred to him as a "good and faithful servant" while Caffarra dubbed him a "disciple of Christ".

His cause of sainthood commenced on 21 January 2004 after being titled as a Servant of God. The confirmation of his heroic virtue on 28 June 2012 allowed for Pope Benedict XVI to name him as Venerable. He was beatified on 27 September 2014 in Madrid in a Mass that Cardinal Angelo Amato presided over on the behalf of Pope Francis.

Life

Alvaro del Portillo was born in Madrid on 11 March 1914. He was the third of eight children to the devout Ramón del Portillo Pardo and Clementina Diez de Solano Portillo; the couple had married on 11 January 1908. He was baptized on 17 March in the parish of Saint Joseph. He studied civil engineering and after obtaining his doctorate at the University of Madrid taught at its School of Engineering. He briefly worked with the Bureau of Highways and Bridges in the provinces crossed by the rivers Júcar, Duero and Ebro.

He received his Confirmation on 28 December 1916 from the Bishop of Siguenza Eustaquio Nieto y Martín and went on to receive his First Communion on 12 May 1921.

In 1935, he joined Opus Dei and was subsequently ordained to the priesthood on June 25, 1944 by Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay of Madrid as one of the first three men ordained for Opus Dei He continued his studies to obtain a doctorate in Philosophy and Letters in history in 1944 from Central University of Madrid, with a dissertation entitled Discoveries and Exploration on the California Coast. In 1948 he earned a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum

thumb|left|185px|The beatification of del Portillo.

He then dedicated himself exclusively to the ministry and government of Opus Dei as its Secretary General. During the pontificate of Pope Pius XII (1939–1958), he worked in several Dicasteries of the Holy See. He met with that pontiff in a private audience on 4 June 1943 and met with Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Pope Paul VI) on the following 17 June.

In 1963, he was named by Pope John XXIII as a consultant on the Pontifical Commission for the revision of the Code of Canon Law. Pope Paul VI named him consultant on several post-Conciliar commissions. In 1975, he was chosen general president of the Opus Dei and successor of Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, and in 1982, the Holy See appointed him as the first Prelate of Opus Dei. In 1991, he was consecrated a bishop by Pope John Paul II, with Archbishops Giovanni Battista Re and Justin Francis Rigali serving as co-consecrators. That same year, he attended World Youth Day in Częstochowa.

He has written extensively about pastoral and ecclesiological matters that examine among others, the role of the lay faithful in the Roman Catholic Church, the human side of priestly formation, the dynamics and functionality of pastoral structures. As Prelate, he also served as Grand Chancellor of the University of Piura in Peru.

Shortly after his 80th birthday, he returned to Rome on a pilgrimage from the Holy Land. He died shortly thereafter. He had celebrated his last Mass at the Church of the Cenacle. Del Portillo was beatified on September 27, 2014 in his birth city of Madrid by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. May 12 was appointed as his feast day. The former Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, described his holiness as part of the transformation of the world.

Works

  • Descubrimientos y exploraciones en las costas de California, 1532-1650 ("Discoveries and explorations off the coast of California, 1532-1650") (1944, doctoral thesis)
  • Faithful and laity in the Church (1969)
  • On the Priesthood (1970)
  • Dinamicità e funzionalità delle strutture pastorali ("Dynamism and functionality of pastoral structures")
  • ¿Un nuevo Derecho Canónico? ("A new canon law?")
  • Morale e Diritto ("Morality and law")
  • Immersed in God: Blessed Josemaria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei as Seen by His Successor, Bishop Álvaro Del Portillo—by Álvaro Del Portillo and Cesare Cavalleri
  • Journey with Jesus through the Liturgical Year
  • Orar: Como sal y como luz ("Praying: like salt and like light")

Excerpts from his works

"Authentic joy is based on this foundation: that we want to live for God and want to serve others because of God. Let us tell the Lord that we want nothing more than to serve him with joy. If we behave in this way we shall find that our inner peace, our joy, our good humour will attract many souls to God. Give witness to Christian joy. Show to those around you that this is our great secret. We are happy because we are children of God, because we deal with him, because we struggle to become better for him. And when we fail, we go right away to the Sacrament of joy where we recover our sense of fraternity with all men and women." Homily, 12 Apr 1984; quoted by Francis Fernandez Carvajal in In Conversation With God, vol.5, p. 155

Bibliography

Works by Blessed Álvaro del Portillo

  • Álvaro del Portillo (1947), Descubrimientos y exploraciones en las costas de California, Madrid, [Publicaciones de la Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos], 1ª, 540 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1969), Fieles y laicos en la Iglesia: Bases de sus respectivos estatutos jurídicos, Pamplona, Eunsa, 1ª, 317 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1970), Escritos sobre el sacerdocio, Madrid, Palabra, 1ª, 156 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1981), Fieles y laicos en la Iglesia: Bases de sus respectivos estatutos jurídicos, Pamplona, Eunsa, 2ª ed. revisada, 261 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1982), Descubrimientos y exploraciones en las costas de California 1532-1650, Madrid, Rialp, 2ª ed. aum., 535 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo y Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (1986), Amar a la Iglesia, Madrid, Palabra, 1986, 1ª, 128 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1991), Escritos sobre el sacerdocio, Madrid, Palabra, 6ª ed. aumentada, 207 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1992), Una vida para Dios: Reflexiones en torno a la figura de Monseñor Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, Madrid, Rialp, 1ª, 299 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo y Cesare Cavalleri (1993), Entrevista sobre el fundador del Opus Dei, Madrid, Rialp, 1ª, 252 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (1995), Rendere amabile la verità: raccolta di scritti di Mons. Alvaro del Portillo: pastorali, teologici, canonistici, vari, Città del Vaticano, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995, 1ª, 692 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (2013), Orar: como sal y como luz. Selección de textos sobre la vida cristiana. Edición a cargo de José Antonio Loarte, Barcelona, Planeta, 2013, 1ª, 252 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo (2013), Rezar con Álvaro del Portillo: textos para meditar. Selección de José Antonio Loarte, Alicante, Cobel, 2014, 1ª, 111 pp.
  • Álvaro del Portillo, Beato (2014), Caminar con Jesús al compás del año litúrgico. Textos tomados de las cartas pastorales. Selección de José Antonio Loarte, Madrid, Ediciones Cristiandad, 2014, 1ª, 290 pp.

Bibliography on Blessed Álvaro del Portillo

  • AA.VV. (2014), Beatificación Álvaro del Portillo: Madrid, 27 de septiembre de 2014, Madrid, Rialp, 1ª, 140 pp.
  • Azevedo, Hugo de (2012), Misión cumplida: Mons. Álvaro del Portillo, Madrid, Palabra, 1ª ed. castellana, 301 pp.
  • Bernal, Salvador (1996), Recuerdo de Álvaro del Portillo, prelado del Opus Dei, Madrid, Rialp, 1ª, 296 pp.
  • Bernal, Salvador (2012), Álvaro del Portillo: una semblanza personal, Pamplona, Eunsa, 2012, 1ª, 130 pp.
  • Catret Mascarell, Amparo y Sánchez Marchori, Mar (1999), Se llamaba Álvaro. Vida de Monseñor Alvaro del Portillo, Madrid, Palabra, 1ª, 31 pp.
  • Catret Mascarell, Amparo y Sánchez Marchori, Mar (2010), Se llamaba Álvaro. Un hombre fiel, Madrid, Palabra, 3ª, 31 pp.
  • Cejas Arroyo, José Miguel (2014), Álvaro del Portillo: Al servicio de la Iglesia, Madrid, San Pablo, 1ª, 159 pp.
  • Coma, María Jesús (2018), Forjar la sombra: Álvaro del Portillo en la Época de Burgos, Alicante, Cobel Ediciones, 1ª, 194 pp.
  • Coverdale, John F. (2014), Saxum: vida de Álvaro del Portillo, Madrid, Palabra, 1ª ed. castellana, 316 pp.
  • Ducay Vela, Antonio (2014), Álvaro del Portillo sembrador de paz y de alegría, Lima, Centro de Estudios y Comunicación (CDSCO), 1ª, 308 pp.
  • Medina Bayo, Javier (2012), Álvaro del Portillo. Un hombre fiel, Madrid, Rialp, 1ª, 826 pp.
  • Russo, Francesco (2020), In ogni circostanza. L'intercessione del Beato Álvaro del Portillo, Torino, Elledici, 96 pp.
  • Scott, Helena y Tolansky, Ethel (2014), Álvaro del Portillo: el poder de la humildad. Prelado del Opus Dei 1914-1994, Madrid, Palabra, 1ª ed. castellana, 92 pp.

Articles and Essays

  • AA.VV. (1995) "Profilo biografico di mons. Alvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano", en Ateneo Romano de la Santa Cruz, Rendere amabile la verità: raccolta di scritti di Mons. Alvaro del Portillo, pastorali, teologici, canonistici, vari, Città del Vaticano, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, pp. 661–664.
  • Badrinas Amat, Benito (2003), "Álvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano: la vida junto a un santo", en Paulino Castañeda Delgado y Manuel J. Cociña y Abella (eds.),Testigos del siglo XX, Maestros del XXI. Actas del XIII Simposio de Historia de la Iglesia en España y América, Sevilla, 8 de abril de 2002, Córdoba, Publicaciones Obra Social y Cultural CajaSur, pp. 383–394.
  • Fernández Montes, J. Mario; Martínez Sánchez, Santiago; y González Gullón, José Luis, "Bibliografía general sobre los prelados del Opus Dei: Álvaro del Portillo", Studia et Documenta: Rivista dell'Istituto Storico san Josemaría Escrivá, vol. VI, núm. 6 (2012), pp. 469–515.
  • Fernández Montes, J. Mario y Martínez Sánchez, Santiago, "Bibliografía general sobre los Prelados del Opus Dei: Álvaro del Portillo y Javier Echevarría, 2003-2009", Studia et Documenta: Rivista dell'Istituto Storico san Josemaría Escrivá, vol. X, núm. 10 (2016), pp. 501–545.
  • Fernández Montes, José Mario y Martínez Sánchez, Santiago, "Bibliografía general sobre los Prelados del Opus Dei: Álvaro del Portillo y Javier Echevarría, 2010-2013", Studia et Documenta: Rivista dell'Istituto Storico san Josemaría Escrivá, vol. XIII, núm. 13 (2019), pp. 483–511.

References