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This article, Opus Dei, was added by Waterkai who determines its usage on this wiki. |
| Opus Dei | |
| |
| Kanji | オプス・デイ |
| English | "Work of God" |
| Romaji | Opusu Dei |
| Organization | |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Josemaría Escrivá |
| Headquarters | Rome |
| Leader(s) | Josemaría Escrivá Álvaro del Portillo |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| Purpose | Spreading the universal call to holiness Destruction of Soul Society |
Opus Dei (オプス・デイ, Opusu Dei; Latin for "Work of God") is known in the Human World as an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, founded by Josemaría Escrivá, that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. In reality, it is an organization of spiritually aware "High-Spec" humans who are aware of the existence of Soul Society and believe it is an afterlife that does not correlate with the idea of a Christian Heaven. They have made it their goal to destroy it and the Shinigami so the afterlife can be rebuilt according to the word of the Lord.
History[]
This section borrows content from Opus Dei's wikipedia page, though heavily adapted and supplemented to fit the Bleach universe.
Foundation period[]
Opus Dei was founded by Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer on 2 October 1928 in Madrid, Spain. Escrivá founded the organization after deserting the Royal Palace with the desire to create a fairer and more blissful afterlife for all humans, having seen how cruel and unforgiving Soul Society can be for the souls it's supposed to harbor. A devoted catholic, he believed God wanted him to sacrifice his legacy for the sake of this holy mission, to purge these "false angels" (偽天使, nisetenshi) and establish a true Heaven. On later accords Escrivá would state that on that day he experienced a vision in which he "saw Opus Dei". He gave the organization the name "Opus Dei", meaning Work of God, to underscore that they were not his personal goals whom he was chasing, but rather God's work being performed through him. To the public, Escrivá summarized Opus Dei's mission as a way of helping ordinary Christians "to understand that their life... is a way of holiness and evangelization... And to those who grasp this ideal of holiness, the Work offers the spiritual assistance and training they need to put it into practice." In secret, Opus Dei also began reaching out to spiritually aware Catholics from around the world.
Initially, Opus Dei was open only to men, but in 1930, Escrivá started to admit women, based on what he believed to be a communication from God. In 1936, the organization suffered a temporary setback where many of its members, including Escrivá, were forced into hiding. Though this is generally attributed to the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War against religious figures, this is only partially true, as the events coincided with a large manhunt by the Gotei 13 against Opus Dei, after a failed mission on their part to assassinate the Central 46. In the aftermath of these events, after they were able to return to Madrid, plans were made to establish a specialized force that would carry out the most dangerous of missions, as to not endanger the organization to this level again. Escrivá published The Way, a collection of 999 maxims concerning spirituality for people involved in secular affairs, that held secret messages for recruiting spiritually aware humans. However, he did not account for the fact that not all "High-Spec" humans would be receptive to this, and in the 1940s, Wlodimir Ledóchowski, a spiritually aware human himself, told the Vatican that he considered Opus Dei "very dangerous for the Church in Spain," citing its "secretive character" and calling it "a form of Christian Masonry." Whether he also revealed their true purpose to the Vatican is unknown.
During World War II, when whole of Europe was in turmoil and the Nazis were hunting down Jewish and Romani people, Opus Dei started smuggling these into safety. This was not completely because of true Christian values, however, as Opus Dei made sure only to reach out to those who were spiritually aware. They hid them in a special center deep within the Pyrenees where the Axis could not find them and began to inform them about their special abilities and train these to contribute to the holy mission of cleansing the afterlife. This was the birth of Masa Blanca. In 1947, Escrivá moved the organization's headquarters to Rome, both as a way to get closer to the Vatican and because of Rome's superior spiritual activity, it having a history as a jūreichi.
Post-foundational years[]
Escrivá in his later years
In 1975, Escrivá stepped down as the leader of Opus Dei, faking his death to the public of the World of the Living. He was succeeded by Álvaro del Portillo, one of Trinidad de Obra (トリニダッド・デ・オブラー (三十字架); Spanish for "Trinity of the Work", Japanese for "Three Crosses") the first three men ordained for Opus Dei. Escrivá remained active behind the scenes, advising Álvaro and contributing to the holy mission in general. In 1982, Opus Dei was made into a personal prelature. This means that Opus Dei is part of the universal Church, and the apostolate of the members falls under the direct jurisdiction of the Prelate of Opus Dei wherever they are.
Spirituality[]
Organization[]
Membership[]
Above all, Opus Dei is a religious organisation and in general it behaves as such. In 1982 Opus Dei was established as a personal prelature which means it contains lay people and secular priests who are led by a bishop. However, whereas a bishop normally has a territory or diocese, the prelate of Opus Dei is pastor to the members and priests of Opus Dei worldwide, no matter what diocese they are in. Because of this, despite its hidden agenda, most members of Opus Dei, though spiritually aware, are not actual fighters. They are intellectuals and men of faith, hardly suited to execute their nefarious intentions towards Soul Society on the battlefield.
Opus Dei is made up of several different types of faithful, most of which are lay persons, men and women along with a small portion of actual priests. Estimates of the prelature put the total amount of members somewhere around the 90.000, with 2.000 of them being ordained priests.
- Supernumeraries:
- Numeraries:
- Numerary assistants:
- Clergy of the Opus Dei Prelature:
Masa Blanca[]
"Ite, missa est" |
Masa Blanca
Masa Blanca (真青軍士 (マーサー・ブラーンカー), Spanish for "white mass", Japanese for "ghastly pale soldiers") are an elite group within Opus Dei whose existence is unknown to the outside world. Each member has been trained from birth in anti-shinigami combat and most individuals can be considered at the power level of a third or fourth seat of the Gotei 13. The group is so illusive that most members of Opus Dei aren't even aware of its existence, only the most devoted and influential. To the outside world, they are labeled as numeraries, though they are typically not faithful or celibate and do not live gender-segregated.
Curiously enough, the members of Masa Blanca are not catholic. In fact their ancestors are mostly Jewish and Romani, making them the only non-Christian faction within Opus Dei. During World War II, when these people were under threat of systematic genocide by the Nazis, Opus Dei started taking in and protecting those who were spiritually aware. In exchange for protection, food and housing, they had to devote their lives to the mission of Opus Dei. Ever since then, this group of people have lived in secluded housing deep in the Pyrenees, where they live and are trained. They are not allowed outside except for the missions they are assigned, but save for that and their training they have total freedom. The people live in a small society where they grow their own crops, hoard their own cattle and in general live a quiet and peaceful life. Living so closely with each other also resulted in quite a few romances over the years, and the current generation has blood of all ethnicity Opus Dei once took in. Though they did not have to adopt the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, living under Opus Dei's care did dull the devotion to their original religion among most of the population, and though some turned Christian, current members are largely agnostic.
The Masa Blanca carry out various elaborate and often dangerous missions, often venturing into Soul Society terrain. Not all children born from the original group were spiritually gifted, but often they tend the crops and animals when they grow older and aren't looked down upon or treated differently in any other way. Though not all higher-ups approved of the initial decision to include non-Catholics in on Opus Dei's mission, Escrivá assured God had given him a sign that these people would be the key to the triumph of their holy mission.
Known Members[]
- Josemaría Escrivá - The original founder, who stepped down as Opus Dei's leader in 1975, faking his death to the public of the World of the Living
- Trinidad de Obra (三十字架 (トリニダッド・デ・オブラー); Spanish for "Trinity of the Work", Japanese for "Three Crosses") were the first three men ordained for Opus Dei in 1944 by the Bishop of Madrid.
- Álvaro del Portillo - The current leader and Prelate of Opus Dei, taking over from Escrivá in 1975.
- Jose Maria Hernandez Garnica - The most mysterious of the three, not much is known or said about him, other than that he does not reside in one of Opus Dei's centers, but travels around the world.
- Jose Luis Muzquiz - Died of illness shortly before Escrivá's retirement
- Laura Otaegui - One of the most respected female members of Opus Dei, she oversees the activities of Masa Blanca, constructing and coordinating their missions in agreement with the Prelate
- Toni Zweifel - Current leader of Masa Blanca, he is a "High-Spec" human holding immense power, capable of standing up to a Gotei 13 captain.
Agenda[]
Trivia[]
- Though it references real-word concepts, symbols and persons, the content of this page is purely fictional and not intended for any use but entertainment and creativity.