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News > Culture

Catholics Celebrate First Beatification of Paraguayan Woman

  • In 1955 at the age of 30, Chiquitunga decided to enter the contemplative life of the Order of the Barefoot Carmelites, taking the name of Maria Felicia of Jesus Sacramentado.

    In 1955 at the age of 30, Chiquitunga decided to enter the contemplative life of the Order of the Barefoot Carmelites, taking the name of Maria Felicia of Jesus Sacramentado. | Photo: Facebook

Published 7 March 2018
Opinion

Paraguay's Carmelite nun, “Chiquitunga,” nears sainthood, with only one miracle left to go.

After more than a decade of fighting for recognition, Paraguay’s Catholic communities celebrate the honor delivered to the Carmelite nun “Chiquitunga”, marking the nation’s first woman to be beatified.

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Pope Francis announced the recognition of the numerous miracles performed in the name of the Carmelite nun which places her just one step closer to sainthood. The edict was made after the Paraguayan Episcopal Conference met with the press on Wednesday afternoon.

During a radio interview, Vatican Ambassador Esteban Kriskovich explained the process: "First, when the application is opened, a person is nominated to be a saint and can declare himself if there are no obstacles, Servant of God. The second step is to be venerable, if there is no witness, an investigation is opened into his history, his conduct, if he lived a virtuous life, etc. Afterward, the process continues, in which there is a postulator who is the defense lawyer of the candidate and the devil's advocate who tries to show why they should not be canonized.”

One of the many required miracles considered for her beatification detailed a series of events surrounding the delivery of a stillborn child from San Pedro. Doctors had attempted to revive the child several times without avail, the child was declared dead. A nurse who witnessed the tragedy prayed to “Chiquitunga” to save his life, within minutes the infant revived and was restored to perfect health. He is currently 13 years old.

"After the beatification, she must produce a new miracle so that she can be canonized, which is the technical term, that is, with a new miracle that shows that the Blessed has made a new intercession in favor of her faithful and can be elevated to the altars of sainthood,” the Vatican delegate said.

According to Kriskovich the difference between a saint and a blessed- someone who has been beatified- is the amount of devotion given to the individual.

“I know many devotees of Chiquitunga in the USA, Brazil, Mexico, Vatican, Italy but above all their devotion in the altars can be local, in the altars of Paraguay, but being a saint can be in all the altars of the world,” he said.

Born Maria Felicia Guggiari Echeverria, Chiquitunga devoted herself to her beliefs from the young age of 14 and joined the apostolate of the Catholic Action of Paraguay. Through this organization, she spent years teaching children catechism and worked tirelessly sharing her time with the young, old, infirmed, and impoverished.

In 1955 at the age of 30, Chiquitunga decided to enter the contemplative life of the Order of the Barefoot Carmelites of the Assumption, taking the name of Maria Felicia of Jesus Sacramentado. However, her time with the Carmelite sisters was cut short after she contracted hepatitis four years later.

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She died at the age of 34 on Easter Sunday, March 28, 1959. Those present at her death say her final words reflected her life and were praise to Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The push for beatification began in 1997 and in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed her a venerable due to her “heroic virtues.”

Her Carmelite sisters described her as a “great spirit of sacrifice, charity and generosity, all wrapped in great meekness and communicative joy," the religious site Aleteia reported.

According to local authorities, the beatification ceremony will take place June 23 in the Cerro Porteño club stadium. Artist Koki Ruiz has called on her fellow citizens and devotees to donate a total of 22,000 rosaries to help create an elaborate altar which will enshrine the blessed woman’s body.

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