Beatified on 31st May 2014
In the imposing Sanctuary of Merciful Love in Collevalenza, Todi (Italy), the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, presided over the beatification ceremony of the Spanish nun, Mother Esperanza de Jesús, founder of the congregations of the Slaves and Sons of Merciful Love.
On Saturday, May 31, thousands of people gathered at the Shrine that Mother Esperanza built trusting in Divine Providence and obeying God’s will.
In the homily for the beatification Mass, Cardinal Amato recalled that Mother Esperanza expressed on several occasions that “holiness consists in living in Jesus” and wanted to sanctify “whatever the cost.” She also explained that the Blessed sought “to fulfill the will of God, trust in his Providence and love the Crucified, symbol of merciful love.”
Pope Francis in his apostolic letter on the occasion of the beatification highlighted three merits of the Blessed, such as that of being the founder of two congregations of consecrated life, being “a witness to God’s meekness especially towards the poor” and the third merit it is to be “promoter of the sanctity of the diocesan clergy.“
The miracle for the beatification was the cure of a child allergic to all kinds of food that the doctors considered incurable. The miracle occurred after the boy drank the water from the source of the Sanctuary of Collevalenza, making his ills disappear.
