On the 7th of November 2018, our Holy Father Pope Francis received in audience His Excellency Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints.
During the
audience, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate the Decree
on the heroic virtues of the Servant of God, María Antonia de Jesús (born:
María Antonia Pereira y Andrade), a professed nun of the Order of Discalced
Carmelites; born in El Penedo (Spain) on the 5th of October 1700 and died in
the Carmel she founded in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) on the 10th of March
1760.
She had quite a colorful life. In her earlier days, she worked as a maid. Her
marriage was arranged by her family but some
time after marriage, her husband and two children embraced the religious life
in different orders.
She herself joined the Carmelite
community of Alcala de Henares. With important
ecclesiastical and economic support, she returned to Santiago and, there, after
surpassing the hesitatiom of the local Archbishop, opened a new convent
of Carmelites in 1748.
She was known as the Monxiña of
the Penedo because of her place of birth.
And
yet another Carmelite recognised for her sanctity…. This is the official recognition, taken from
the Vatican website : “The heroic virtues of the Servant of God Arcángela
Badosa Cuatrecasas, professed religious of the Congregation of the Sisters of
the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel; born in Sant Joan les Fonts, Spain, on
16 June 1878 and died in Elda, Spain, on 27 November 1918.” She
was known as an ‘angel of charity”.
