Juan Jiménez Vargas, primer fiel del Opus Dei.

 This Day in Opus Dei. April 29, 1997. "Dies natalis" of Dr. Juan Jimenez Vargas

On January 21, 1933, Saint Josemaria gave the first Saint Raphael circle to three students: Juan Jimenez Vargas (pictured) – one of the first members of Opus Dei – and two friends of his.
Juan Jimenez Vargas was one of the first members of Opus Dei. He joined the Work on January 4, 1933. This was the second time he met with Saint Josemaria. In this meeting the founder told him about the supernatural outlook of the Work and Juan asked to be admitted. He had met Saint Josemaria at the beginning of 1932, in a visit that was of pure coincidence and of just a few minutes. He was only accompanying a friend of his -Adolfo Gomez- who used to go to confession with Saint Josemaria. He was a student of Medicine from of a middle-class family. Juan realized that Saint Josemaria would ask frequently to those who went to confession with him, names of friends that he could be introduced to. Juan was one of those first three that attended the first circle of studies at the nursing home of Porta Coeli (on January 21, 1931). Soon after having attended this first circle - actually, the day after - he began the catechesis in the suburb of Tetuán, which was back then one of the worst of Madrid due to poverty as well as an anti-clerical atmosphere. “It was repulsive” Juan used to say, in regards to how many people lived in Tetuán.

From Vasquez de Prada: "Juan was impressed by the faith and devotion that shone through the liturgical gestures and prayers, and especially by "the way (Saint Josemaria) held the monstrance in his hands and gave the blessing." Years later Saint Josemaría explained what had been going through his mind when he gave that blessing with the Blessed Sacrament:

"When class was over, I went to the chapel with those boys, and I took our Lord sacramentally present in the monstrance, raised him, and blessed those three..., and I saw three hundred, three hundred thousand, thirty million, three billion..., white, black, yellow, of all the colors, all the combinations, that human love can produce. And I fell short, because this has become a reality after not even half a century. I fell short, because our Lord has been generous beyond my wildest dreams."

Extract from: Andres Vazquez de Prada, The Founder of Opus Dei Vol. I: The Early Years, Princeton NJ: Scepter Publishers, pp. 367-371.
See: "I saw three hundred, three hundred thousand, thirty million, three thousand million…" https://opusdei.org/.../i-saw-three-hundred-three.../