It isn't often that a religious order makes a big impression on the Lycos search logs, but last week saw it happen. But if you aren't a Catholic, you don't know what the big deal is about Opus Dei.

Opus Dei is a controversial Catholic sect founded in 1928 by a Spanish cleric named Josemaria Escriva. Today Opus Dei has about 85,000 members worldwide, including 1,700 priests. It has the status of a "personal prelature," meaning that its members do not report to the territorial church hierarchy but instead report to Opus Dei headquarters in Rome.

According to Opus Dei's website, the organization "helps ordinary lay people seek holiness in and through their everyday activities, especially through work." Escriva stressed the universal call to holiness decades before Vatican II, and Opus Dei stresses the serving the divine through everyday living as opposed to special religious tasks.

It doesn't sound like a big deal, but Opus Dei is extremely controversial. It has been accused of excessive secrecy and control over members that is almost cult-like. Their aggressive recruiting practices are also frowned upon by many non-Opus Catholics. A search on Lycos will reveal both pro-Opus Dei and anti-Opus Dei websites.

Last week, the phrase Opus Dei went from a handful of searches to as many as the phrase Jesus Christ. The cause of this sudden interest was the canonization of sect founder Escriva, who was made St. Josemaria Escriva by longtime Opus Dei supporter Pope John Paul II at a huge ceremony in Rome on October 6.

While it often takes more than a century for prominent Catholic figures to reach sainthood, Escriva died in 1975, so only 27 years passed before his canonization. 300,000 Catholics came to St. Peter's Square for the ceremony, which was followed by a thanksgiving Mass and a papal audience.

TOMORROW: The Bali Bomber vs. the Washington Sniper on the new Lycos 50.