A new episode of the Daily Mail's On The Case podcast reveals how reporter Jordana Seal went undercover to investigate Opus Dei, the secretive Catholic organisation long accused of exploiting young women. Founded in Madrid in 1928 by priest Josemaría Escrivá, later canonised as a saint, Opus Dei presents itself as helping ordinary Catholics find holiness in daily life, but has faced decades of allegations including sexual assault, forced labour and abuse of women and children across multiple countries. The group's public image was shaped by its depiction in The Da Vinci Code, though campaigners say the real-world allegations against it are far more serious than the novel's fictional portrayal.

To investigate how Opus Dei operates in Britain, Seal posed as a lonely graduate new to London to gain access to one of the organisation's residences, and separately interviewed former members, including women who claim they endured decades of unpaid domestic work and painful rituals such as self-flagellation and wearing a spiked cilice. Her findings follow a September 2024 case in Argentina, where prosecutors formally accused senior Opus Dei figures of human trafficking and labour exploitation, alleging girls as young as 12 from poor rural families were lured with promises of education and instead forced into years of unpaid domestic servitude. Opus Dei categorically denies all abuse allegations, maintaining that women freely chose their religious vocation and were paid lawfully.