Welcome to "North American Sanctity," a new series on holy men and women, boys and girls, saints and those on the road to sainthood, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Some will be familiar, others less so; but all are inspiring!
“It is of vital urgency to have a clear awareness of what the Cross of Christ means, of what it accomplishes in the mystery of the person.”
By Kimberly Bruce
Blessed Maria Concepción Cabrera Arias de Armida, or “Conchita,” as she is known (feast day March 3), is the first Mexican laywoman, wife, and mother to be beatified in the Catholic Church.
Considered one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century, with voluminous writings rivaling only those of St. Thomas Aquinas, she founded several religious orders and institutions, and her zeal for spiritual renewal amongst the clergy earned her the title “Spiritual Mother to Priests.”
Supernatural visions
Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in 1862, Conchita began to have supernatural visions of the Christ Child while still a young girl. Raised in a devout family, the seventh of nine children born to wealthy landowner parents, Conchita had great love for the Holy Eucharist and for prayer.
While attending a dance in her teen years, she met her future husband, Francisco de Armida. The two wed when Conchita was 22, and together they had nine children over the course of the next 15 years. At age 39, however, Conchita became a widow.
Science of the Cross
Pressed with the difficulties of raising nine children, alone, did not push Conchita into despair nor cause her to lose hope. Instead, she chose to enter a “spiritual marriage” with Jesus.
During the homily for her beatification, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said Conchita understood “the science of the Cross.” He said Conchita echoed the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Sorrows, by being “aware that every sorrow, great or small, had already been experienced by Jesus on the Cross; and in Him she was able to find strength and meaning.”
In one of Conchita’s books, Message of the Cross, she said, “It is of vital urgency to have a clear awareness of what the Cross of Christ means, of what it accomplishes in the mystery of the person.” She was aware that suffering, united with Christ’s, benefits oneself and others when “offered up” in prayer. In fact, Christ gave Conchita a vision of His heart on a cross, surrounded by flames, pierced by a lance, and pulsating with love. He told her:
I wish the Cross to reign. Today, it is presented to the world with my heart so that it may bring souls to make sacrifices. No true love is without sacrifices … The essence of this work consists in making known the interior sufferings of my Heart which are ignored, and which constitute for me a more painful Passion than that which my body underwent on Calvary…
Christ went on to tell Conchita that people’s suffering is “mostly wasted.” Instead, He said, “I wish them to profit from it by way of the Apostolate of the Cross for the benefit of souls and for consolation of my Heart.”
Conchita knew great suffering: over the course of her life, she experienced the death of four of her children.
Salvation of souls
Our greatest mission is the salvation of souls. This is a call and opportunity for us to show love to others. Blessed Conchita understood, deeply, the words St. Faustina wrote in her Diary:
I try faithfully to follow Jesus. And I deposit this whole series of daily virtues—silent, hidden, almost imperceptible, but made with great love—in the treasure of God’s Church for the common benefit of souls. I feel interiorly as if I were responsible for all souls. I know very well that I do not live for myself alone, but for the entire Church… (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 1505).
Blessed Conchita’s writings, consisting of 60,000 pages in 66 volumes, have been examined and approved by the Church. In them, Conchita wrote much for the benefit of priests. Wishing to strengthen them and the Church, she said:
To love the Church is not to criticize her, not to destroy her, not to try to change her essential structures … To love the Church is to cooperate with the work of Redemption by the Cross and in this way obtain the grace of the Holy Spirit come to renew the face of this poor earth…
In addition to her writing, she founded two apostolates for priests, one for religious sisters, and three for the laity. One of her sons became a Jesuit priest, and one of her daughters, a nun.
Conchita lived to age 74, when she died in Mexico City on March 3, 1937.
Miracles
A miracle attributed to her intercession, and confirmed by Pope Francis in 2018, was the healing of Jorge Trevino Guitterez from a myriad of health issues suffered since 1960, including terrible muscle contractions and contortions. In 2008, he prayed to Conchita for healing, fell asleep, and woke up completely healed!
Jorge said that while sleeping, Conchita had appeared to him. She prayed with him, told him to receive daily communion, and to pray for priests. She caressed his face, then disappeared.
Pope St. John Paul II declared Conchita Venerable in 1999, and Pope Francis beatified her in 2019.
Remembering what Jesus told Bl. Conchita, we should make sure to offer up our sufferings, great and small, as gifts of love for others. As Jesus told St. Faustina, “I need sacrifice lovingly accomplished,” which is, “exercising mercy in spirit” (Diary, 1316).
Blessed Conchita, pray for us to offer daily sacrifices and prayers for others and for our beloved priests. Amen!
Next in the series: Blessed Mateo Elías del Socorro Nieves, March 10.
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