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DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
1st August 2024
On the Holy Mountain
Letter to the Bishop of Caguas (Puerto Rico)
Dear Brother,
In the history of “deep America” we can find many women who have
had a significant role in handing on the faith, sometimes even more effectively
than the limited work that some priests could carry out. In this regard, Pope
Francis has referred to “the presence of strong and generous women who,
undoubtedly called and prompted by the Holy Spirit, baptized, catechized, prayed
and acted as missionaries. For centuries, women have kept the Church alive in
those places through their remarkable devotion and deep faith” (Querida
Amazonia, 99). He added, “women make their contribution to the Church in a
way that is properly theirs, by making present the tender strength of Mary, the
Mother” (ibid., 101). These women did not need Holy Orders; for them the
power of Baptism, the impulse of the Holy Spirit and the closeness of Mary Most
Holy were enough.
The words of Pope Francis are sufficient to express the beauty and true meaning
of the figure of Elenita de Jesús, a woman like so many of our people, one who
lived under the influence of the Holy Spirit, in charity and in proclaiming the
Gospel, inspired by a deep love for our Heavenly Mother, the Virgin Mary.
In your decree of 26 November 2018, you wrote that Elenita was a woman who
served the Church as a missionary catechist at a decisive moment in history,
when the Catholic faith was seriously threatened. She did so by identifying
intimately with her suffering people. In your letter of 11 October 2022, you
clearly explained that Elenita became the voice of a very poor people, “she
walked in their midst as a disciple of Jesus and under the mantle of the Virgin
Mary. She made her own the hunger and needs of the humble people of the
countryside, as well as anxieties for faith and hope”. In the various narratives
about Elenita, elements of her life and death are intermingled with other
symbolic elements that make up a collective memory that, in various ways, has
become an expression of gratitude to this beautiful female figure.
From the testimonies collected in the aforementioned decree, it emerges that
people called her “mother” because of her beautiful dispositions they saw in
her: “her simplicity, her Christian virtues, austerity of life, spirituality,
knowledge, personal gifts and catechetical ability”.
We know that Elenita had a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary. It is said that
she carried a picture of the Virgin with her, that she sent to Spain for an
image of the Virgin, that she had several Marian chapels built and that she
promoted devotion to the Virgin of Mount Carmel (cf. Synthesis by Bishop Ramos
Morales of 8 September 2022). Therefore, the devotion to Our Lady of Mount
Carmel in the Sanctuary of the Holy Mountain would undoubtedly be a great joy
for Elenita. The best homage would be to go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel, to whom she was so devoted, and to try to live devoted to
Jesus Christ and his Kingdom of love and justice.
It is true that in her life we find signs of her great union with the suffering
Jesus Christ, and that many of her gestures echoed the affection of Mary, the
Mother of Heaven. Various testimonies say that she resembled the Virgin and
some, in an excess of admiration, made the mistake of affirming that she was the
Virgin. Certain expressions that perhaps she herself used could be confusing,
but, in those times, when the missionary catechists of these places felt closely
identified with some saint, they used words that in reality meant “I belong to”,
“I identify with”. Today we do not speak in such a way because it can cause
confusion. Therefore, any expression of appreciation for Elenita should avoid
the impression of affirming that she was the Virgin Mary.
Having read with great attention the documentation that you sent – which gathers
together various studies made by people with different points of view – and
taking into account your considered opinion as Bishop, I consider that the care
of the faith of the faithful requires a definitive clarification: any
identification of Elenita with Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer, or with
the Virgin Mary, first cooperator in the work of her Son, must be totally
avoided. In the face of any attempt to attribute to Elenita de Jesús the
identity of the Lord, or of Mary Most Holy, the judgment cannot be other than “constat
de non supernaturalitate”. Elenita de Jesús is not the Virgin Mary. You may,
therefore, issue the corresponding decree with the dispositions you deem
necessary (cf. Dicastery For The Doctrine Of The Faith,
Norms for Proceeding
in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena, 17 May 2024, Art. 21
§1). This applies, also, with regard to non-authentic apparitions or blood,
which are not to be venerated.
At the same time, as you have always pointed out, it cannot be denied that the
figure of Elenita de Jesús is of great value for the Church in Puerto Rico and
should be considered as a stimulus to total dedication to the Kingdom of God.
Certainly, it would be a joy for Elenita if those who love her would use her
figure as a motivation to give themselves to God alone and avoid directing
toward her the gestures of devotion that correspond to the Mother of Jesus
Christ. It is better not to damage this treasure by distorting its original
meaning.
The figure of Elenita speaks to us of love for Jesus Christ and Mary, of the
dignity of women, of generous dedication, commitment, austerity. It also speaks
very eloquently to us about the care and defense of the poor, as the Aparecida
Document says:
Only the closeness that makes us friends enables us to appreciate deeply the
values of the poor today, their legitimate desires, and their own manner of
living the faith. The option for the poor should lead us to friendship with the
poor. [...] In the light of the gospel, we recognize their immense dignity and
their sacred worth in the eyes of Christ, who was poor like them and excluded
among them. Out of this believing experience, we will share with them the
defense of their rights (398).
May God grant that, avoiding everything that could create confusion, we may turn
our ears and hearts to the Gospel, which must resound day after day on the Holy
Mountain, so that it may be a place where Jesus Christ, the only Lord and
Redeemer, is adored, as Elenita de Jesús, humble and poor among the poor, would
surely have wished.
Please receive my warmest greetings and my appreciation for your pastoral work.
Víctor Manuel Card. FERNÁNDEZ
Prefect
EX AUDIENTIA DIEI 01.08.2024
Franciscus
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