Canonized by Pope John Paul II October 6, 2002, the Spanish priest founded the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei in 1928. St. Josemaria Escriva preached the universal call to holiness, affirming the importance of work as a means of personal holiness and apostolate, when lived in union with Christ.
According to Card. Gracias, the priest's teaching on the sanctification of the work is now "urgent" to "bring honesty into public life" so that " ethics, morality and values return to center stage." In fact, "the proper functioning of the global economy requires fundamental values and a common code of ethics, founded on faith and reason. And the call to holiness and apostolate to the testimony of the Gospel, is the call of every Christian."
In India, where Christians are a minority of just 2.3% (and Catholics are only 1, 8%), the teachings of the saint are even more fundamental. "Living in a non-Christian society - said the cardinal - requires us to witness this holiness every day with our lives. We are called to have a structured and mature faith: this is the priority of the Church in India".