BRAINTREE, Mass. (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Boston has opened the canonization cause of an Opus Dei priest, Father Joseph Muzquiz, who established the organization in the United States and worked for many years in the greater Boston area.

About 150 people, many of whom are local members of Opus Dei, attended the ceremony held June 2 at the archdiocesan pastoral center in Braintree.

“All Christians are called to be saints and we are deeply grateful that the Archdiocese of Boston is undertaking this effort to see whether Father Joseph Muzquiz indeed truly lived a holy life,” said Opus Dei spokesman Brian Finnerty.

Father Muzquiz was born in Spain in 1912. He served for a time in the nationalist army toward the end of the Spanish Civil War. He worked as a civil engineer, building bridges and railroad stations, and according to his biography, he sought to bring friends and colleagues closer to God in his daily work. In 1940, he asked to join Opus Dei. He was ordained to the priesthood June 25, 1944.

Upon coming to the United States in 1949, Father Muzquiz helped establish Opus Dei centers in Chicago and Washington. He also laid the foundations for Opus Dei’s work in Canada and Japan. The organization, a personal prelature of the pope, today has about 87,000 members around the world, including about 1,900 priests.