# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/josemaria-escriva
# Generated: 2026-08-31T13:50:56.951Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/josemaria-escriva"
name: "Josemaría Escrivá"
slug: "josemaria-escriva"
description: "He founded Opus Dei, the Catholic organization built on the idea that ordinary work is a path to holiness — and became one of the church's most polarizing saints, reviled and venerated in nearly equal measure."
tagline: "Spanish priest, writer and Catholic saint"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Josemaria_Escriva.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Spain"
  isoCode: "ES"
category:
  name: "Religious Figures"
  slug: "religious-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Religious Figure"
  slug: "religious-figure"
birthDate: "1902-01-09"
deathDate: "1975-06-26"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           57.63
  momentum:             1.341421143847487
  historical:           24.457088
  currentAttention:     7.452339688041596
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Religious Figures"
    slug: "religious-figures"
  - name: "Writer / Author"
    slug: "writer-author"
  - name: "Literature"
    slug: "literature"
  - name: "Law"
    slug: "law"
  - name: "News Broadcasting"
    slug: "news-broadcasting"
  - name: "Religion"
    slug: "religion"
  - name: "Spain"
    slug: "spain"
  - name: "Europe"
    slug: "europe"
sources:
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    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Josemar%C3%ADa%20Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemaria_Escriva"
    title: "Josemaria Escriva"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josepmaria_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Josepmaria Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ceb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "José María Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "José María Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%87_%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D8%B3%DA%A9%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%88%D8%A7"
    title: "خوزه ماریا اسکریوا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xosemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Xosemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%94-%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94_%D7%90%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%91%D7%94"
    title: "חוסה-מריה אסקריבה"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9B%E3%82%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A8%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC"
    title: "ホセマリア・エスクリバー"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://de.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://fr.wikiquote.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1_de_Balaguer"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Josemaría Escrivá was ordained a priest in Zaragoza in 1925, then moved to Madrid to pursue a doctorate in civil law. When the Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936, he fled Madrid through Andorra and France to Burgos, the rebel Nationalist headquarters under Franco, returning only after the Nationalist victory to complete his doctorate in 1939. His life's work was Opus Dei, the organization he founded to promote everyday holiness among laypeople and priests; his book The Way sold millions of copies in 43 languages. He settled in Rome in 1946 and earned a theology doctorate from the Lateran University in 1955. Opus Dei and Escrivá himself drew fierce controversy — allegations of secrecy, elitism, cult-like behavior, ties to Franco's dictatorship, and financial misconduct followed him, and former members publicly questioned his character even as the Vatican moved him toward sainthood. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 2002 amid considerable contention, leaving Escrivá precisely where he'd long stood: a figure millions venerate and others cannot forgive.