 Cardinal Albino Luciani (later Pope John Paul I), John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, Óscar Romero, and many Catholic leaders have endorsed Escrivá's teaching concerning the universal call to holiness, the role of laity, and sanctification of ordinary work.According to Allen, among Catholics, Escrivá is "reviled by some and venerated by millions more".José María Mariano Escrivá y Albás was born to José Escrivá y Corzán and his wife, María de los Dolores Albás y Blanc on 9 January 1902, in the small town of Barbastro, in Huesca, Aragón, Spain, the second of six children and the first of two sons.