Escrivá was born in 1902 in the town of Barbastro in Huesca province in northeastern Spain into a profoundly Christian family. From an early age, he experienced suffering: His three younger sisters died when they were very young, his father’s business failed, and the family had to leave their land to move to Logroño in search of better conditions.
One day, Escrivá saw footprints of bare feet in the snow. Just thinking about who could have left them chilled him to the core. Who can walk on ice without shoes? It seemed crazy to him. But when he found out that they were the footsteps of a monk, his perception of those tracks changed completely.
Those footprints, he thought, have been left by someone extraordinary who does equally extraordinary things. Thinking that someone was capable of doing something like that could only be explained by a great purpose, someone operating on a different plane. Escrivá then sensed that perhaps God was sending him a message — perhaps God wanted something from him.
Little by little, his mind became clearer: Christ wanted him to follow in his footsteps closely as a priest.
Escrivá was characterized by his generous and cheerful character, while his simplicity and equanimity made him very beloved among his fellow students. He was very dedicated to prayer, discipline, and had a love for learning. Without wanting it, he was looked up to by those around him. He went on to enter the seminary.
On March 28, 1925, Escrivá was ordained a priest. Years later, with permission from his bishop, he would move to Madrid to obtain a doctorate in law. Once the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, he was forced to interrupt his studies, which he was only able to finish after the end of the war. After finishing his doctorate in jaw, he earned another doctorate in theology — this time, outside of Spain, at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.
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