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Quote of the day, 12 December: Venerable Luisita

I am a beggar before the Blessed Sacrament, always praying for you.

God will provide for our needs. Let us trust that we will receive all from Him Who loves us so much and is always watching over us.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be our refuge.

Pray as close to the tabernacle as you can.

Venerable Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament (Madre Luisita)

Chapter 15, Second Cristiada

During the next four years [1921–1925], Catholics in Jalisco were vigorously persecuted by the infamous José Guadalupe Zuno, who became the mayor of Guadalajara in 1922 and the governor of Jalisco in 1923. His administration was characterized by his relentless attacks on the Catholic Church.

Simultaneously, the anger and indignation of the Catholic citizens of Jalisco, especially those in Guadalajara, were coming to a head. Catholic groups came together to discuss their options and to mobilize in different ways to ready themselves for whatever would come.

The year 1921 saw three bombings. The first bomb exploded in Archbishop Orozco’s residence in April, causing considerable damage. It happened about ten days after the sisters had received their habit and professed their vows [in Venerable Luisita’s nascent community, the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of the Third Order of Guadalajara].

It seemed to be a response by the government to the huge gathering of fervent Catholics who had come together to witness the crowning of the statue of Our Lady of Zapopan.

Archbishop Orozco had not been able to go to Atotonilco to receive Mother Luisita’s vows because he had presided at that crowning. Father Anaya [Abundio Anaya, archdiocesan vicar for religious] had been delegated to take the archbishop’s place for the sisters’ Clothing and vow ceremonies.

A second bomb went off on June 4 at Archbishop Orozco’s residence.

The third bombing was the much-publicized blast in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. On the morning of [November 14, 1921], a factory worker had quietly placed twenty-nine sticks of dynamite in a flower vase at the foot of the famous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The explosion burst the basilica’s windows, smashed vases, and completely destroyed the marble altar. The large bronze cross near the image was bent twenty degrees. The windows of buildings hundreds of yards away were shattered.

The image of Our Lady and the glass surrounding it, however, remained untouched.

Within a short time, about twenty thousand Mexicans protested. Businesses closed that day for a five-hour mourning period. The fact that the famous image was unharmed is considered by Catholics to be a miracle.

Sister Timothy Marie Kennedy, O.C.D.

Chapter 10, The Way of Carmel

Note: Sr. Timothy Marie states that the date of the bombing of the basilica was on 18 November. However, multiple articles, including those appearing in the Washington Post and New York Times on 15 November, indicate that the bombing occurred on 14 November 1921.

Postcard of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 1923
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

Kennedy T M 2022, Unleashing Hope: The Biography of Venerable Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH.

Featured image: This detailed image comes from an oil on canvas painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, executed in Mexico ca. 1700. Image credit: Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (Public domain)

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