Opus Dei
Opus Dei (Lat., ‘work of God’). Either the divine office, especially as sung in choir; or (and now more commonly) a Roman Catholic religious association founded in Madrid in 1928 by José Maria Escrivá de Balaguer, known more fully as the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross and the Work of God. Its status since 1982 has been that of a personal prelature, its superior exercising over members a similar authority to that of a bishop, though not on a territorial basis. It has evoked criticism of its authoritarian style and control. Its founder was declared blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1992, despite widespread criticism in the Church of the style and speed with which this was done.
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Opus Dei
