Much at stake for Opus Dei in conclave

AS cardinals prepare to elect a new Pope, one Catholic community in particular has much at stake - Opus Dei, the ultraconservative movement at the centre of the furore generated by The Da Vinci Code book.

Founded in Spain in 1928, the movement has more than 80,000 members worldwide, many of them lay people but also hundreds of priests, bishops and even two cardinals who will be casting votes in Rome.

Its mission - to give lay people a dynamic role in spreading the word of God - enjoyed firm support from John Paul II, who championed the movement as a means of confronting the secularisation of society and reinforcing his conservative doctrine.