New leader of Opus Dei confirmed by Pope Francis

Monsignor Fernando Brana plans for a bright yet simple future for the prelature

Spanish Msgr. Fernando Ocariz, the newly elected head of Opus Dei, is pictured during a media opportunity at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome Jan. 24. His appointment was approved the previous day by Pope Francis. (CNS photo/courtesy of Opus Dei)

The new Opus Dei head prepares for his office with a simple plan for the future.

"I have the desire that the prelature of Opus Dei continues to do the good it has done and is increasingly doing in service of the world, which is really the only thing that interests us: the good of the person. The good of the person which, in the final moment, is the encounter with Jesus Christ," Monsignor Fernando Ocariz Brana told reporters.

His nomination was formally accepted by Pope Francis Jan. 23. The Pope acted "with great affection… the affection he has for us, the hope for the work the premature does in the world," the monsignor told journalists Jan. 24.

Msgr. Brana previously acted as the vicar general of Opus Dei from 1994 to 2014, becoming the auxiliary vicar afterwards. For more information, read the Catholic News Agency article here.