Opus Dei (“Work of God” in Latin) is a institution belonging to the Catholic Church, which calls itself an evangelizing tool of the church, with the objective of sanctify the daily work of people under the conduct of a Christian life.
Also known as Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, this religious organization is classified as a personal prelature by the Catholic Church, that is, a structure institutional formed by different categories (laity, clergy and prelate), which aims to promote certain activities pastorals.
Opus Dei was founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer on October 2, 1928, in Madrid, Spain. Josemaria Escriva was canonized in 2002, becoming recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
According to the principles disseminated by Opus Dei, its partners - men or women - do not need to abandon their professions to become dedicate exclusively to pastoral work, much less change the marital status, that is, married, single and widows.
In addition to the so-called “lay people”, Opus Dei is also open to those who follow a priestly life, however, according to the institution's statistics, more than 90% of its members are lay people.
Members of Opus Dei are basically divided into two classes: the supernumeraries and the cash.
The supernumeraries form a large part of the current members of the religious institution. As a rule, they are married people with stable professions, who set aside part of the day to say prayers, attend meetings and spiritual retreats.
Numeraries are the men and women who are dedicated exclusively to celibacy, living to fully serve the apostolic goals of Opus Dei.
In Brazil, Opus Dei was established in 1957, being the first headquarters in Brazilian land built in the city of Marília, in the state of São Paulo.
There are several conspiracy theories that involve Opus Dei, giving the sense of secret society or sect, who uses religion as a tool to carry out their personal interests.
know more about conspiracy theory.
Some accounts of former partners describe sexual tortures that were practiced in Opus Dei, with the intention of inhibiting probable sexual pleasures of men and women.
The numeraries would be victims of strict and extremely authoritarian rules, being prohibited from visiting their relatives, for example.
Some testimonies report the development of serious mental problems and hallucinations caused by the constant psychological torture that some members of Opus Dei suffered.
Opus Dei and Da Vinci Code
Opus Dei gained great notoriety with the publication of the book “The Da Vinci Code” in 2003, authored by American writer Dan Brown. In 2006, the book gained a theatrical release under the direction of Ron Howard.
In the plot, Opus Dei is depicted as a manipulative religious sect trying to protect the location of the Holy Grail beyond the revelation that Jesus Christ would have maintained a relationship with Mary Magdalene, generating descendants still alive in the Earth.
See also the meaning of Holy grail.
Opus Dei and Freemasonry
Some theories consider Freemasonry to be the enemy of Opus Dei, however, there are other assumptions that claim to be the two allies or partners in pursuit of a common goal.
Opus Dei is an institution that belongs exclusively to the Catholic Church, made up of workers and members of the clergy.
Freemasonry, in turn, was created in the beginning of the 18th century and is known for being composed of brilliant and influential figures in society.
Opus Dei is considered by some people as “white Freemasonry”, due to the aura of a secret society that affects all its members.
Learn more about the meaning of Masonry.
