Isidoro Zorzano Ledesma

On August 24, 1930, during a trip to Madrid, Isidoro met his former classmate Josemaría Escrivá again, who had become a priest. The latter explained to him the message of Opus Dei, founded in 1928, which proposes seeking holiness through professional work and the ordinary duties of daily life. Isidoro immediately discerned his vocation there and requested his admission that very day. He thus became one of the very first members of Opus Dei and the first to persevere in it. Back in Malaga, he continued to balance his work as an engineer with his apostolic commitments, particularly among the youth and the most destitute. In June 1936, shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he moved to Madrid. During the conflict (1936-1939), his Argentine nationality gave him relative freedom of movement as a foreigner. He made heroic use of this to provide material and spiritual support to members of Opus Dei and many persecuted priests. He visited prisoners, brought food and supplies, and clandestinely transported bread and wine to allow Saint Josemaría and other priests to celebrate Mass in secret. He also kept consecrated hosts in his room so that those in hiding could receive Communion. After the war, in 1939, he was reinstated in the railway company (Ferrocarriles del Oeste) in Madrid. He moved into the new university residence in the capital and took on the role of general administrator of Opus Dei, faithfully assisting the founder in structuring the nascent work.

In 1941, Isidoro began to feel extreme fatigue. Doctors diagnosed him with lymphogranulomatosis (Hodgkin's disease), a cancer of the lymphatic system. He faced this painful illness with extraordinary patience, constant joy, and total abandonment to the divine will, offering his sufferings for the Church and for the development of Opus Dei.

During his last meeting with Saint Josemaría, the day before his death, he expressed his desire to continue working actively for the Work from heaven. He passed away in the odor of sanctity on July 15, 1943, in Madrid, at the age of 40.

The cause for the beatification of Isidoro Zorzano was introduced in Madrid on October 11, 1948, under the pontificate of Pius XII, presided over by Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay. The diocesan informative process closed on April 19, 1961, after having collected the depositions of 71 witnesses, including Saint Josemaría Escrivá. Following successive reforms of the causes for canonization, an additional diocesan process was opened on December 4, 1993, by Cardinal Ángel Suquía Goicoechea, Archbishop of Madrid, and concluded in June 1994. On October 6, 2009, his mortal remains were transferred from the La Almudena cemetery to the parish church of San Alberto Magno, located in the Vallecas district of Madrid, where they now rest. On December 21, 2016, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of venerable.

The spirituality of Isidoro Zorzano fully embodies the charism of Opus Dei: the sanctification of ordinary work in the midst of the world. A rigorous and esteemed engineer, he knew how to transform his professional tasks into a constant dialogue with God. His life is characterized by a keen sense of social justice, a deep respect for his colleagues and workers, and an active charity towards the most destitute. His piety was profoundly Eucharistic and Marian, lived out in daily simplicity and humility. He is proposed today as a model of holiness for laypeople, engineers, and all workers who seek to bear witness to Christ in their professional lives.