The Chancellor
Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei
The current Chancellor of the Pontifical University of Santa Croce is Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei.
A Doctor of both Civil and Canon Law, Bishop Echevarría was ordained to the priesthood on August 7, 1955. He collaborated closely with Saint Josemaría Escrivá, and worked as his secretary from 1953 until the Saint´s death in 1975. Since 1966, he has been a member of the General Council of Opus Dei.
In 1975, when Bishop Álvaro del Portillo became Saint Josemaría´s successor as the head of Opus Dei, Javier Echevarría was nominated as the Secretary General of Opus Dei. In 1982, Opus Dei became a personal prelature, at which time he was appointed as Vicar General.
Bishop Echevarría is a member of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, and the Congregation of the Clergy. He participated in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, both in America (1997) and in Europe (1999), as well as in the Ordinary General Assemblies in 2001 and 2005.
He was elected and subsequently nominated by John Paul II to be the Prelate of of Opus Dei on April 20th, 1994. Shortly thereafter, on January 6, 1995, he was ordained Bishop by the Holy Father in Saint Peter´s Basilica.
Bishop Echevarría has written a number of books on spirituality, including some which are dedicated to the memory of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei: Memoria del beato Josemaria Escriva fondatore dell'Opus Dei, Itinerari di vita cristiana, Para servir a la Iglesia, Getsemani, Eucaristía y vida cristiana.