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.