Opus Dei

What Opus Dei does

Opus Dei (The Prelature of Opus Dei) is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church founded in Madrid, Spain, on October 2, 1928 by Saint Josemaría Escrivá, and elevated to its current canonical status by Pope John Paul II in 1982. It is headquartered in Rome, Italy, and is led by a Prelate currently Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, who is nominated by the Pope. Its mission is to provide Catholic spiritual formation to approximately 96,000 members worldwide — comprising priests, lay men and women, married supernumeraries and celibate numeraries — across roughly 70 countries, emphasizing sanctification of ordinary work and daily life. Cooperators, who include non-Catholics of various religions and the non-religious, support its educational and social projects through prayer, volunteer work, and donations.

Opus Dei delivers its formation through a global network of centers, supplemented by digital channels that include a multilingual website (available in over 50 languages), active social media accounts on Facebook, X, YouTube, Flickr, and Instagram, email newsletter subscriptions, RSS feeds, and the eScrivaLite mobile application that presents daily Gospel prayer with texts from Saint Josemaría. Core digital products comprise Today's Gospel, Daily Meditation, the "From St. Josemaría" daily text, a Monthly Recollection Kit, a Pocket Prayer Book, and a multimedia video series ("One by One"). Its published books — The Way, Furrow, The Forge, Friends of God, Christ is Passing By, and Holy Rosary — are also offered as digital resources.

As a non-commercial ecclesiastical institution, Opus Dei does not have a traditional revenue model. It is funded by voluntary donations and contributions from members and Cooperators, applied to educational and social initiatives via autonomous foundations (each with their own boards of directors) that own the property used in its apostolates rather than the Prelature itself. Its spiritual formation activities, classes, conferences, days of recollection, and spiritual direction are offered free of charge to members and participants, with activities segregated by sex and scheduled to accommodate ordinary work and family life.

Name

Opus Dei

Legal name

The Prelature of Opus Dei

Website

https://opusdei.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1928

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church, founded in 1928 and headquartered in Rome, providing spiritual formation to roughly 96,000 members across about 70 countries via in-person centers, a multilingual digital platform, and the eScrivaLite mobile app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catholic Spiritual Formation Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (813110), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious Organizations (81311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Devotional & Prayer Publishing (Devotionals, Prayer Books, Meditation Guides) (MPAJAHAB), Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

Keywords

• Catholic spiritual formation
• Personal prelature
• Religious formation programs
• Spiritual direction services
• Catholic devotional content

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Member contributions and donations: Members and Cooperators provide financial support through donations towards educational and social projects. Property used in apostolates does not belong to the Prelature; centers and initiatives are owned and run by autonomous foundations with their own boards of directors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Opus Dei provides Catholic spiritual formation, guidance, and pastoral care to its members and to anyone wanting to engage their faith at a deeper level through classes, conferences, days of recollection, and spiritual direction, offered separately for women and men and designed to fit alongside busy work and family schedules. Its offering is extended globally through a multilingual digital platform (website, mobile app, newsletter, and social media) that distributes daily Gospel meditations, spiritual writings of Saint Josemaría, and formation resources, with social and educational initiatives sustained by member donations and autonomous foundations.

Product overview

Opus Dei operates a digital platform offering spiritual formation resources and Catholic content. The core offering includes the opusdei.org website with daily Gospel meditations, articles, and newsletter subscriptions. Key digital products include the eScrivaLite mobile app for prayer with daily Gospel texts, and various daily spiritual content features (Today's Gospel, Daily Meditation, From St. Josemaría daily text). Physical and digital publications include Saint Josemaría's spiritual books—The Way, Furrow, The Forge, Friends of God, Christ is Passing By, and Holy Rosary. The organization also provides multimedia content through its One by One video series. Services include newsletter subscription and the Monthly Recollection Kit. Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church focused on spreading the Christian message about holiness and sanctification of work, not a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• eScrivaLite mobile application A free mobile application that enables users to pray about each day's Gospel using texts from Saint Josemaría's writings, guiding daily meditation. Targeted at Catholics seeking structured daily prayer.
• Spiritual formation programs (classes, conferences, days of recollection, spiritual direction) In-person Catholic spiritual formation offered at Opus Dei centers and other venues (churches, offices, private homes), including classes, conferences, days of recollection, and one-on-one spiritual direction. Activities are provided separately for men and women and are offered free of charge. Targeted at Catholic faithful seeking Christian formation.
• Email newsletter subscription Email newsletter service providing regular updates on Opus Dei news, spiritual content, and formation resources. Targeted at subscribers interested in ongoing Catholic spiritual content.
• Saint Josemaría spiritual book trilogy (The Way, Furrow, The Forge) Three foundational spiritual books by Saint Josemaría containing counsels, spiritual annotations, and points for meditation to facilitate personal prayer. Targeted at Catholics seeking structured spiritual reading.
• Social and educational initiatives (via autonomous foundations) Social assistance and educational projects operated through autonomous foundations, including work in developing countries, supported by member and cooperator donations. Targeted at beneficiaries of educational and social programs worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Present in about 70 countries through regional circumscriptions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cooperators (non-Catholic supporters)supportingOthersNon-Catholic Christians and people of other religions or no religion can be Cooperators of Opus Dei. They pray for Opus Dei or help it through work and donations towards educational and social projects worldwide. Currently includes Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Jewish, Moslem, Buddhist, and non-religious supporters.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Legionaries of Christ: Catholic religious congregation with a parallel lay movement (Regnum Christi) operating globally. Comparable to Opus Dei in offering structured spiritual formation, mixed lay/clergy membership, and a centralized leadership structure with global scope.
• Focolare Movement: International Catholic lay movement emphasizing unity and spiritual formation, with members in 180+ countries. Similar to Opus Dei in offering free spiritual formation activities, lay-led community engagement, and a distinctive spirituality centered on everyday life.
• Communion and Liberation: Italian-founded Catholic lay movement with global presence focused on Christian education and cultural engagement. Comparable to Opus Dei in providing organized formation activities, recognizing the sanctification of work, and operating across multiple countries with strong lay leadership.
• Neocatechumenal Way: Catholic formation movement operating in thousands of parishes worldwide with a structured catechetical and community life. Comparable to Opus Dei in offering parish-based, lay-led Christian formation with a defined spirituality and global organizational reach.
• Schoenstatt Movement: International Catholic movement with members, shrines, and formation programs on every inhabited continent. Comparable to Opus Dei in combining lay spiritual formation, an explicit spirituality with a recognized founder, and decentralized national organizations.
• Regnum Christi: Lay Catholic movement associated with the Legionaries of Christ, with a strong focus on evangelization, formation, and member-led spiritual communities. Comparable to Opus Dei in providing structured spiritual formation with a lay vocation rooted in ordinary life.
• Cursillo Movement: Worldwide Catholic lay movement that delivers short-format spiritual formation weekends (three-day cursillos) followed by ongoing small-group community. Comparable to Opus Dei in offering lay-led formation, retreats, and lifelong community follow-up, though with a less centralized structure.
• Emmanuel Community: French-origin Catholic community of laypeople and priests with a strong evangelization and retreat ministry operating in dozens of countries. Comparable to Opus Dei in offering community-led formation, prayer, and retreat activities with both lay and priestly members.

Broad incumbents

• Knights of Columbus: Largest Catholic lay organization in the world with millions of members, focused on charity, fraternity, and faith formation. Comparable to Opus Dei as a global Catholic lay membership organization but with a much broader, more public-facing charitable mission and a fraternal rather than contemplative focus.
• Catholic Church (Holy See): The universal Catholic Church, of which Opus Dei is a personal prelature under the Holy See. Comparable in that it provides global religious services, formation, and community life at the largest scale, while Opus Dei operates as a specialized structure within it.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/opusdeius
• YouTubeyoutube.com/OpusDeiWorld
• Facebookfacebook.com/opusdei.eng
• Instagraminstagram.com/opusdei_en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Opus Dei