Inspiring a community of faith through the lens of Opus Dei

 

In 1976, Oakcrest School was established in Washington, D.C. by a group of families and educators who were seeking an all-girls environment guided by the teachings of the Catholic Church and the spirituality of Opus Dei. 

Opus Dei is a prelature of the Catholic Church that encourages faithfulness in the ordinary moments of life through a relationship with God and the sanctification of one’s work. Founded by St. Josemaría Escríva in Spain in 1928, Opus Dei came to the United States in 1949. With lay members, numeraries and supernumeraries, as well as religious members, the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, Opus Dei is an evangelizing mission of the Church which cultivates Christians to live lives consistent with their faith. 

“In and through our ordinary work and human endeavors, we are called to live with joy on this earth and called to be saints in heaven,” Head of School Christie Keuchel said. 

Fr. Gerry Kolf, Oakcrest Chaplain and a priest of Opus Dei, says that his “function in the school is to bridge the sacramental life of the Church into the ordinary life of the school.” 

“I’m needed and I love it,” he said. 

Vickie Bigliano, who has taught at Oakcrest for 7 years and also served as the school’s Interior Designer, said that the teachings of St. Josemaría and Opus Dei have “substantially changed my life and helped me see my Catholicism as a whole.”

“St. Josemaría saw, under divine inspiration, that a person could become a saint in the middle of the world,” Vickie said. “This blew me away.”

She further explained that as Opus Dei focuses on the spiritual development and formation of the laity, it also seeks to encourage consistent growth. 

 

“We’re constantly growing every day,” she added. “It’s a journey in life, to grow deeper and broader as you make it your own. Opus Dei provides spiritual formation in helping people develop a spiritual life and apostolate.” 

The main pillars of Opus Dei, sanctifying work in ordinary life through prayer and sacrifice, are rooted in divine filiation, which is one’s understanding of oneself as a child of God. 

“There are so many tasks we have to conquer both personally and professionally and divine filiation weaves into all of these and allows us to contemplate the fact that we are children of God and that should change how we do those tasks,” Lori McGovern (Thérèse ‘22, Myriam ‘24) said. “We carry God’s love into every aspect of our lives.”

Jeannie Herrick (Jackie ‘13, Kathryn ‘18), Middle School Director of Mentoring, Luz Gonzalez, Spanish teacher, and Austin Ruse (Lucy ‘24, Gigi ‘27), all added how Opus Dei invites its members to follow a plan of life that allows them to live continuously in the presence of the Lord as they grow in their own interior lives.