Quote of the day, 7 January: Valentino Macca, ocd

Many believed that with Teresa of Jesus, we were faced with a typical case of the Church declaring a Doctor equipollenter, from 1882 onwards. However, with ever greater insistence, the voices were heard of those who implored a formal declaration. In 1923, an appeal was made to the Holy See to achieve this intention; it failed. The time was not ripe.

Providence arranged that in the climate of grace created by Vatican II, Paul VI, so supernaturally open to the signs of the times, should have the inspiration to give for the first time to a female Saint, distinguished for a marvelous doctrine that made her the teacher and mother of spiritual life in the Church, the title of Doctor.

The Pope, chosen by God for this act, had already in 1965 practically called her Doctor; in 1967 he greeted her as “great teacher of Catholic mysticism” and “extraordinary interpreter of the things of God”; while on 10 September 1965, he declared her principal patroness of all Catholic writers in Spain, affirming that she was the “luminary of Spain and of the whole Church” through her books, filled with heavenly wisdom, and even today she remains praestantissima magistra [exceptional teacher].

The solemn act of 27 September 1970—crowning all of this—will give the title, full rights, and honors of “Doctor of the Church” to the one who loved to call herself “daughter of the Church.”

Valentino di Santa Maria Macca, O.C.D.

The Doctorate of Saint Teresa (excerpts)

Note: Father Valentino Macca, O.C.D. (Brescia, Italy, 17 February 1924 – 7 January 1988), entered the Discalced Carmelite Order at sixteen, was ordained in 1950 after studies at the Teresianum in Rome, and devoted decades of service to the Order and the Holy See. He served at the General Curia as General Archivist and director of Analecta O.D.C., taught Mariology at the Marianum, was widely cited for his scholarship, and acted as a consultor to several dicasteries; his final assignment was Relator for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

Macca, V. di S. M. 1970–1971, ‘The doctorate of Saint Teresa: The historical development of an idea’, Ephemerides Carmeliticae, vol. 21, nos. 1–2, pp. 35–113.

Translation from the Italian text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: St. Teresa of Jesus, Doctor of the Church, Convento de la Concepción del Carmen, Valladolid. Image credit: Ángel Cantero, Iglesia en Valladolid / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

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