his term of office, the Opus Dei Prelature began stable formational activities in sixteen countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. He "helped steer Opus Dei toward a period of normalization after the controversies surrounding the canonization of Escrivá in 2002 and then the turbulence of the Da Vinci Code." Echevarría Rodríguez served as the chancellor of the University of Navarra in Spain, the University of Asia and the Pacific in the Philippines, and various other universities under the spiritual care of Opus Dei. He participated in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for America in 1997 and of Europe in 1999, and also of the General Ordinary Assembly of 2001 and 2005. On Tuesday, 18 September 2012, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as one of the papally-appointed Synod Fathers for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization. On 9 July 2005, Pope Benedict XVI greeted Echevarria on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination, expressing his "esteem and affection": Late life and death In 2014, at age 82, he appointed priest Fernando Ocáriz as Auxiliary Vicar, considering an "increase in the work of government required of the Prelate", as well as his age. The Auxiliary Vicar is a position to be filled when needed, holding executive authority, foreseen in the statutes of Opus Dei. On 5 December 2016 he was admitted to the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital due to a respiratory infection, where he was treated with antibiotics. On 12 December his condition aggravated leading to a respiratory failure that ultimately caused his death at 21:20 CET. The day after Echevarría's death, Pope Francis wrote Ocáriz giving condolences to him and all members of Opus Dei, thanking God for his "constant service of love to the Church and souls", underlining his "fatherly testimony of priestly and episcopal life" Javier's remains was buried inside the crypt of the Prelatic Church of Our Lady of Peace, next to his predecessor, Blessed Alvaro del Portillo. Works He wrote works on spirituality such as: Memoria del beato Josemaría – reminiscences of Blessed Josemaria Itinerarios de vida cristiana – reflections around the turn of the millennium on the ways of Christian life Para servir a la Iglesia – a homily on serving the church Getsemaní – about praying in union with Christ in his passion Eucaristía y