Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church founded in Spain in 1928 by St. Josemaria Escriva, teaching that ordinary work and daily life can be a path to holiness; its first American center opened in Chicago in 1949. Murray Hill Place, completed in 2001 on the corner of 34th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, houses Opus Dei's United States regional headquarters along with residences, chapels, and a conference center. The 17-story building became widely known after being depicted in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.