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John F. Coverdale
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Saxum: The Life of Alvaro del Portillo Kindle Edition

by John F. Coverdale (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 93 ratings
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Saxum—the Latin word means rock—is the nickname that St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, bestowed on Alvaro del Portillo. Don Alvaro, as he came to be known, was for many years the founder’s closest associate as well as his successor and first Prelate of Opus Dei after it became a personal prelature—a foundational rock for this dynamic international Catholic group devoted to promoting sanctity in ordinary life.

Written in anticipation of Bishop del Portillo’s September 2014 beatification—his official recognition by the Church as “blessed” and a stage on the way to his possible canonization as a saint—the book is a fact-filled biography set against the background of historic events like the Spanish Civil War and Vatican Council II. It depicts a person of powerful integrity and conviction who set aside a promising engineering career to follow the vision embodied in Opus Dei. Don Alvaro emerges in these pages as a tower of strength, reliability, and good humor in the face of a host of threats and challenges that might well have defeated a lesser man.

John Coverdale, an attorney and historian, is the author of two other books detailing the early days of Opus Dei—Uncommon Faith, about St. Josemaria and his companions during and shortly after the civil war in Spain, and Putting Down Roots, about Father Joseph Muzquiz, along with Alvaro del Portillo one of Opus Dei’s first priests, who played a key role in introducing it in the United States.
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  1. Print length
    237 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    July 9, 2014
  5. File size
    4226 KB
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00LOKG7CU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scepter Publishers (July 9, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 9, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4226 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 237 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 93 ratings

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John F. Coverdale

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
93 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Phillip W. De Vous
5.0 out of 5 stars Heroic Priestly Witness
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2014
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Saxum is a fine introductory volume to one of the Church's most recent blesseds, Don Alvaro Portillo, the prelate of Opus Dei and successor of Saint Josemaria Escriva. His was a truly priestly and apostolic life marked by a holiness made possible by the traditional means of sanctification--devout praying of the breviary, daily mental prayer, daily examination of conscience, devotion to Our Lady, intense apostolic work, all united to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. While many priests in the contemporary Church seem quick to eschew these traditional means of sanctification, looking for some more "contemporary"--which always means "easier"--way to achieve likeability, not holiness, Don Alvaro's bears eloquent testimony to the efficacy of the way that is ever ancient and ever new.

Priests seeking to the totally transformed by Christ would profit from imitating Blessed Alvaro del Portillo. He shows the necessity of having a plan of life if one intends to follow Christ.

I can only hope that the Prelature of Opus Dei plans to publish a volume of Don Alvaro's writings on the priesthood!
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Daryl J. Glick
5.0 out of 5 stars An in-depth biography of the newly Blessed Alvaro del Portillo ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014
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An in-depth biography of the newly Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, surely on his way to sainthood, fully faithful to the path of holiness in the world laid out by his mentor and founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaria Escriva. Early in the book one is treated to a deep dive into the spirituality of Opus Dei and in a rather unique way is introduced to the radical nature of the numerary vocation - a calling of ordinary lay men and women to a lifetime dedicated to pursuing and spreading the sanctification of work and everyday duties.
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Fr. Roger J Landry
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introductory, Easy-to-Read Biography
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2014
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John Coverdale is a very easy to read biographer who gives all the context needed to enter the scene and accompany the person being profiled. Blessed Alvaro del Portillo ought to be the patron saint of multi-taskers insofar as from the time he was an engineering student needed to manage simultaneously several full-time duties and so he can teach everyone how to do them with presence of God. He enfleshes how one can become holy in the midst of one's ordinary duties. These are things that Coverdale's text makes plain. Very much worth the read.
6 people found this helpful
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Angie S.
5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiration for holiness
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2014
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Beautiful description of a dedicated and holy man. Good description of beginnings of Opus Dei and the struggles to do God's will in everything. Loved to learn the prayer and patience Fr. del Protillo used to give God time to work out tough situations. It has helped give me a plan of action to face my own difficulties. This version gives more details about his life than other biographies. It gives more insight into how wonderful and faith-filled he really was. An inspiration to people who want to be holy.
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persona privada
5.0 out of 5 stars A silent way to serve God
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2015
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It is an excellent spiritual book, also it has a whole lot of history related to Opus Dei. What impacted me the most was his humble way to conduct himself and the amount of knowledge he had to handle any situation. His kindness and genuine love he showed to everyone. I will reread it again and again, there is much to learn and to remember from it. Glad to have this book in my hands.
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Hannah
5.0 out of 5 stars So inspiring!
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2014
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I didn't know much about don Álvaro before reading this book, and now I feel as though I grew up with him as my uncle, who taught me much by his actions and little words of wisdom. His virtue is an example and a call to give more, to love more, to be more faithful, to be more daring - for our God will never abandon us, and He does not lose battles!
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A student of philosophy
5.0 out of 5 stars "Saxum" (Latin for rock) portrays del Portillo as he was --and is-- a truly great human being and an extraordinary Christian
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2014
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A well written book (despite some typos) about a real human and religious hero. "Saxum" (Latin for rock) portrays del Portillo as he was --and is-- a truly great human being and an extraordinary Christian. We don't have many real heroes today, Bishop Álvaro is a real hero and a very lovable figure.
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Doctor Fred
3.0 out of 5 stars Good but somewhat dry biography of B. Alvaro del Portillo
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014
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It is an interesting book about the Work. The early chapter(s) contain a good description of the philosophy of the Work and of the Founder. The rest is an interesting history of both the Work and biography of Bl. Alvaro del Portillo. So, the book is entirely adequate in its scope and execution, but it is just not written in an extremely engaging style.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Antonio Madeira
5.0 out of 5 stars Um santo do cotidiano
Reviewed in Brazil on December 9, 2017
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A vida de Don Álvaro é um belo exemplo de como ser santo no cumprimento de nossas obrigações cotidianas no meio do mundo.
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Mark
4.0 out of 5 stars well worth the read
Reviewed in Canada on October 29, 2014
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The book was both thorough and moving at once. One learns a lot about the spirit of Don Alvaro, his life, work, and incredible self sacrifice for love of God and of his great friend St. Josemaría Escriva. It also threw some interesting light on the inner workings of Vatican II.
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kristen
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2015
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Great book to read
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Serge Wall
5.0 out of 5 stars A great sight into the life of a saint
Reviewed in Italy on October 6, 2014
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Coverdale writes in a wonderful and easy style that helps you to get the most of the life of Blessed Alvaro. His portrait of don Alvaro, the first successor of St. Josemaria as head of Opus Dei, is based mainly in the book of the postulator of the cause of canonization of don Alvaro, but Coverdale includes a series of practical information that will help the american reader to understand better the circumstances and the context of many particular moments. Lovely book.
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Pedro Luis García
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Spain on August 18, 2014
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Great book to get to know the life of the main companion of Saint Josemaria. Above all, Alvaro was a person who served faithfully the Church
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