Fernando Ocáriz Braña (born 27 October 1944) is a priest of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been the prelate of

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

since 2017. Ocáriz is the fourth person to head Opus Dei since its founding in 1928. He is widely published in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and has been a consultor of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

since 1986.

Life, studies and work

Fernando Ocáriz Braña was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 27 October 1944 to José Ocáriz Gómez and María Dolores Braña, and is the youngest of eight children. He joined Opus Dei on 7 September 1961. In the 1960s, as a theology student, he lived in Rome alongside Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei. He received a licentiate in theology from the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

in 1969 and a doctorate in theology from the

University of Navarra The University of Navarra is a private Catholic research university located on the southeast border of Pamplona, Navarre, Spain. It was founded in 1952 by Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, the founder of '' Opus Dei'', as a corporat ...

in 1971. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1971, and was especially involved in ministry to young people and to university students during the first years of his priesthood. Since 1986, he has been a consultor of the

, as well as other departments of the Roman Curia: the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regard ...

since 2003 and the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization since 2011. He has also been a member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology since 1989. In 2009, it was announced that he would participate in the doctrinal discussions between the Society of St. Pius X and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. In the early 1980s, Ocáriz was among the professors who began the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he was a tenured professor (now Emeritus Professor) in Fundamental Theology. Ocáriz was appointed Vicar General of the Prelature of Opus Dei on 23 April 1994. In 2014, he was named Auxiliary Vicar of Opus Dei. He became the provisional head of Opus Dei upon the death of the prelate of Opus Dei, Javier Echevarria, in December 2016. He was elected prelate of Opus Dei on 23 January 2017, and on the same day Pope Francis confirmed that appointment.

Prelate of Opus Dei

A few weeks after his election, on 14 February 2017, Ocariz transmitted to the members of the prelature the conclusions of the General Congress of Opus Dei, outlining the main priorities of the prelature.

References

External links

*Van Biema, David (13 April 2006)
"The Ways of Opus Dei"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''.
Con el papa sobre Opus Dei y Fernando Ocáriz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocariz Brana, Fernando 1944 births Catholic philosophers Catholic clergy scientists 20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic theologians Pontifical Lateran University alumni University of Barcelona alumni Opus Dei members University of Navarra alumni Living people Prelates of Opus Dei Academic staff of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross