Editing Josemaría Escrivá (section)

===Towards the Virgin Mary===
[[File:Univnavarrefairlove.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Mother of Fair Love, a gift of Josemaría Escrivá to the [[University of Navarra]]: John Paul II stated: "Love for our Lady is a constant characteristic of the life of Josemaría Escrivá."]]
Pope John Paul II stated on Sunday, 6 October 2002, after the Angelus greetings: "Love for our Lady is a constant characteristic of the life of Josemaría Escrivá and is an eminent part of the legacy that he left to his spiritual sons and daughters." The Pope also said that "St. Josemaría wrote a beautiful small book called ''The Holy Rosary'' which presents spiritual childhood, a real disposition of spirit of those who wish to attain total abandonment to the divine will".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2002/october/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20021007_opus-dei.html|title=To the pilgrims who had come for the Canonization of Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (October 7, 2002) {{!}} John Paul II|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2019-12-04}}</ref>

When Escrivá was 10 or 11 years old, he already had the habit of carrying the rosary in his pocket. As a priest, he would ordinarily end his homilies and his personal prayer with a conversation with the Blessed Virgin. He instructed that all rooms in the offices of Opus Dei should have an image of the Virgin. He encouraged his spiritual children to greet these images when they entered a room. He encouraged a Marian apostolate, preaching that ''"To Jesus we go and to Him we return through Mary"''. While looking at a picture of the [[Virgin of Guadalupe]] giving a rose to San [[Juan Diego]], he commented: "I would like to die that way." On 26 June 1975, after entering his work room, which had a painting of the [[Virgin of Guadalupe]], he slumped on the floor and died.<ref name="BIOG"/>