Vatican City ? Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday blessed a statue of the founder of the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei, saying he hoped it will serve as inspiration for those who passed by to “do one’s daily work in the spirit of Christ.”

The 20-foot-tall white Carrara marble statue, placed in a niche of the outside wall of St. Peter’s Basilica, depicts Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer with his hands open in a welcoming gesture and two cherubs at his feet holding a sculpted Bible. Balaguer founded Opus Dei in Spain in 1928.

Opus Dei has more than 80,000 members worldwide, many of them lay people but also hundreds of priests and bishops.

Its mission – to give lay people a dynamic role in spreading the word of God – was backed by the late Pope John Paul II, who championed the movement as a means of confronting the secularization of society and reinforcing his conservative doctrine. But Opus Dei – Latin for “God’s work” – is also accused of secretive, cult-like practices.