The Church celebrates six new venerables. Pope Francis, during an audience on March 23 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, authorized the promulgation of the Decrees recognizing the heroic virtues of one priest, three religious sisters, and two laywomen. 
They are the Servants of God Carlo Crespi Croci, a Salesian; Maria Caterina Flanagan, a Bridgettine; Leonilde of Saint John the Baptist, of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; Maria do Monte Pereira, of the Congregation of the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart; Teresa Enríquez de Alvarado, a mother of a family; and Maria Domenica Lazzeri, a laywoman.

Carlo Crespi: a life devoted to the mission

The essence of Carlo Crespi's life, born in Legnano in 1891, was his mission in Ecuador. In 1923, he left for the missions and settled in Cuenca, where he remained until his death. There he began unprecedented work promoting human development, founding several institutions: the festive oratory, the Normal Orientalista for the training of Salesian missionaries, the “Cornelio Merchán” elementary school, the school of arts and trades, the region's first agricultural institute, the Salesian Theater, the Gran Casa community center, the “Domenico Savio” orphanage, and the science museum. In 1938, he organized the First Diocesan Eucharistic Congress in Cuenca. He spent the final years of his life entirely hidden away in the confessional, where the faithful formed long lines to see him. Worn down by a life of hardship that he had chosen in order to live as a poor man among his poor, he died in Cuenca on April 30, 1982, from bronchopneumonia and a heart attack, after asking one last time to hold the crucifix in his hands.

Maria Caterina Flanagan: a religious sister in dialogue with Lutherans

Maria Caterina Flanagan, born in London on July 17, 1892, answered God's call in September 1911 at the House of St. Brigid in Piazza Farnese. In 1927, she was sent to Sweden for a year. She later served as superior in Lugano, England, and Vadstena; when she moved to Djursholm, she was struck by an incurable illness. Taken to the Catholic nursing home in Stockholm, she spent the last months of her life amid excruciating suffering, praying for Sweden and inspiring everyone through her example. She died on March 19, 1941, with profound acceptance of the Lord's will.

Leonilde of Saint John the Baptist: a life devoted to the poor

Leonilde of Saint John the Baptist, from Lisignago in the province of Trento, was still an adolescent when she began her novitiate in 1906 at the Institute of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Pola. A woman of great faith, she sought union with God through prayer, always eager to fulfill God’s will faithfully. She was distinguished by immense generosity in the field of education, becoming a point of reference for both students and their families. The poor and people in spiritual and material difficulty also benefited from her help and support. During the Second World War, she even deprived herself of necessities to give them to the needy. She died on December 12, 1945.

Maria do Monte Pereira: the angel of psychiatric patients

Born in Funchal, on the island of Madeira (Portugal), on April 10, 1897, she did not have an easy childhood, but found strength in faith. After completing her novitiate, she professed her vows in the Pious Union of the Daughters of Mary. In 1934, she was appointed Assistant Novice Mistress, an office she held until 1942, when she was transferred to the Community of Braga as a nurse, working especially with the mentally ill. In 1952, she met Father Júlio Gritti, S.C.I., who became her spiritual director and asked her to transcribe her interior experiences. In 1961, she began to suffer from health problems. She died in Funchal (Portugal) on December 18, 1963, at the age of 66, following surgery for gallstones. She lived her vocation joyfully, dedicating herself to brothers and sisters in difficulty, in whom she saw the face of Jesus. She lived the Congregation’s charism deeply, carrying out her service to the mentally ill with dedication, charity, and patience. She was esteemed by her fellow sisters in the community. She experienced extraordinary phenomena, which she lived out in concealment and humility.

Teresa Enríquez de Alvaredo: the vocation of being a mother

She lived in Spain between the 15th and 16th centuries and found her path in being a mother not only to her own children, but also to those whom life would bring into her care. From an early age, she was raised in a life of faith. A lady-in-waiting to Isabella of Castile, she married a minister at her family's insistence. She became the mother of four children, but was widowed in 1503. Her steadfast faith led her to turn away from the splendor of the Spanish court and devote herself to prayer and charitable activities. She withdrew to the area around Toledo, where she led an austere life and dedicated herself to those most in need. She acted as a mother and educator to orphaned children, cared for girls and women living on the streets, looked after the sick, and worked to revive devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She managed the family's wealth, allocating most of it to charitable works and the construction of places of worship, and contributed to the founding of various confraternities, a monastery, and four convents. She died on March 4, 1529. 

Maria Domenica Lazzeri: the stigmata and the treasure of suffering

Born on March 16, 1815, in Capriana (Trento, Italy), into a family deeply rooted in religious values, in 1828 she devoted herself, together with her mother, to caring for those suffering from a severe and infectious epidemic. Both were stricken by the disease; her mother recovered, but Domenica began to suffer from loss of appetite, breathing difficulties, fever, and tremors, eventually progressing to convulsions. In 1834, she was diagnosed with severe anorexia. In January 1835, she received the stigmata on her hands and feet and on the right side of her chest. Then, in February 1835, the crown of thorns also appeared on her head, dripping with fresh blood every Friday. She died in Capriana on April 4, 1848, at the age of 33. Her strength lay in her complete trust in the Lord, to whom she surrendered herself with filial love. Toward others, she practiced charity from childhood through generous service, with a gentle and gracious manner, to the sick and the poor, especially children. She experienced these extraordinary phenomena as a place of prayer, offering, and immense suffering, avoiding visibility in every way. Her greatness does not lie in the exceptional nature of the mystical phenomena she experienced, but in the way she lived and bore witness to her love for the Lord, serenely accepting the daily cross.

What beauty there is in these new venerables, who testify every day to God's presence among us!