Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, who succeeded St. Josemaria Escriva as
the worldwide leader of Opus Dei, will be beatified on September 27 in
Madrid. Having worked for years to establish Opus Dei as the first personal prelature in the Church, Bishop del Portillo was named by Pope John Paul II to be the first prelate of the lay apostolate.
He continued in that post until his death in 1994 at the age of 80.