Vatican: Elenita de Jesus Is Not the Virgin Mary

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has ruled out the supernatural nature of the events associated with Elenita de Jesus and the Holy Mountain Shrine in Puerto Rico, according to the latest norms for evaluating alleged apparitions in the Catholic Church.

Photo credit: Slim MARS

Highlights

By Catholic Online (California Network)
8/6/2024 (8 months ago)

Published in Christian Saints & Heroes

Keywords: Vatican, Elenita de Jesus, Puerto Rico, supernatural, Cardinal Fernandez, Holy Mountain Shrine

In an August 1 letter to the bishop of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Cardinal Víctor Fernandez, the prefect of the dicastery, confirmed that Elenita de Jesus "is not the Virgin Mary."

The cardinal stated that Elenita de Jesus, a 19th-century missionary catechist, "lived under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, in charity and in the proclamation of the Gospel, inspired by a profound love for our mother in heaven, the Virgin Mary."

He noted that Elenita de Jesus served the Catholic Church at a critical time when faith was under severe threat. She was affectionately called "mother" due to the "beautiful attitudes they saw in her."

"It is true that in her life we find signs of her great union with the suffering Jesus Christ and that in many of her gestures she extended the affection of Mary, the mother of heaven. Various testimonies say that she resembled the Virgin, and some, in an excess of admiration, mistakenly affirmed that she was the Virgin," Fernandez explained.

Cardinal Fernandez declared that "identifying Elenita de Jesus with Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only redeemer, or with the Virgin Mary, the first cooperator in the work of her Son, must be completely avoided."

The prelate confirmed, "In the face of any attempt to attribute to Elenita de Jesus the identity of the Lord or of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the judgment cannot be other than 'constat de non supernaturalitate' (clearly not supernatural). Elenita de Jesus is not the Virgin Mary."

However, he emphasized that "it cannot be denied that the figure of Elenita de Jesus has great value for the Church in Puerto Rico and must be considered to foster total dedication to the kingdom of God."

"It would be a joy for her if those who love her would use her person as a motivation to dedicate themselves solely to God and avoid directing towards her the gestures of veneration that belong to the mother of Jesus Christ. It is better not to damage this treasure by distorting its original meaning," Fernandez added.

The cardinal expressed his hope that the Holy Mountain Shrine "will always be a place where Jesus Christ, the only Lord and Redeemer, is adored, as Elenita de Jesus, humble and poor among the poor, would surely have wished."