Dr. Saranyana, a theologian and member of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, began the lecture by saying, “Don Álvaro was basically a liberal man in the truest sense of the word”. He expounded on this idea throughout the talk.

“The Venerable Álvaro del Portillo wasn’t just a lover of freedom. He was also very free in his actions, detached, generous, tolerant and an adamant defender of other people’s rights and freedoms”, he explained.

Dr. Saranyana discussed Don Álvaro’s attitude within a Spanish historical framework, the evolution of Catholic theology up to and beyond the Second Vatican Council, and Don Álvaro’s interpretation of the conciliar spirit. The speaker said that when Don Álvaro was faced with opposition over religious issues he was, “by nature, a defender of individual freedoms and subjective rights”.

To conclude the lecture, Dr. Saranyana said, “When someone is ahead of his time or matures faster than those around him, he sometimes manages to influence his environment. Other times, however, he must be patient and wait for better days. Obviously, Don Álvaro was no exception. That’s another way he showed us the path that must be followed by the righteous man of peace who knows how to pull in the nets without breaking them”.

Álvaro del Portillo succeeded Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer as the Prelate of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church entrusted by the UIC with the pastoral care of the university community.