St. Fascist I
Pope Canonizes Opus Dei Founder
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:38 a.m. ET
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Applauded by a huge crowd, Pope John Paul II raised to sainthood Sunday the Spanish priest who founded the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei.
The canonization of Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer came only 27 years after his death, a remarkably short time by Vatican standards. It can take centuries for the Church to confer sainthood.
