Wow the Pope Approved Miracle that Paved the Way for the Canonization of Saintly Elena Guerra - Known as an Apostle of the Holy Spirit!

Pope Francis approved a miracle that was granted through the intercession of Blessed Elena Guerra, which has officially allowed for the canonization of this new female saint. She is also known as “an apostle of the Holy Spirit.”

Elena Guerra (Born: Lucca, 23 June 1835 – Died: Lucca, 11 April 1914) was an Italian nun, teacher and founder of the Congregation of the Oblate Sisters of the Holy Spirit (Sisters of Saint Zita). She was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1959.

She often wrote to Pope Leo XIII and was the instructor of St. Gemma Galgani, Elena Guerra (1835–1914) was famous for her spiritual writings and her great devotion to the Holy Spirit.

Over a dozen letters to Pope Leo XIII were sent between 1895 and 1903,  and she asked him to call all Catholics to invoke the Holy Spirit in prayer.

The pope listened to Guerra’s advice and published three documents on the Holy Spirit during their correspondence, including a letter asking the whole Church to pray a novena to the Holy Spirit leading up to Pentecost in 1895 and his encyclical on the Holy Spirit, Divinum Illud Munus, in 1897.

Biography: Elena Guerra was born in Lucca on 23 June 1835 to parents belonging to the local nobility and received a solid Christian education from an early age. In 1856 she gave birth to the "Giardinetto di Maria" and subsequently to the "Spiritual Friendships", two forms of lay female aggregation that allowed young women to enjoy mutual spiritual help. Following an illness that kept her confined to bed from 1857 to 1864, she dedicated herself to meditating on the Word of God and studying the Fathers of the Church. After a pilgrimage to Rome with her father, the desire to consecrate herself to God was born in her. At the sight of Pope Pius IX she was so moved that, upon returning to Lucca, she vowed to offer her life for the Pontiff. In 1871, against the wishes of her family, together with some friends she began a new experience of community religious life which, ten years later, in 1882, would materialize in the foundation of the Congregation of the Sisters of Santa Zita for cultural and youth religious. The last years of her life were embittered by misunderstandings with some sisters who accused her of bad administration, so much so that, in a spirit of obedience to the Archbishop of Lucca, she had to leave her duties as Superior, enduring illnesses and pain that led to her death which took place on 11 April 1914.

Miracle healing

On April 5, 2010, Mr. Paulo G., while he was busy pruning a tree, fell from a height of about 6 metres. He was transported to Uberlândia hospital, in an unconscious state, and there he was diagnosed with a very serious head-brain injury, with suspected brain death and systemic complications such as pneumonia and hepatitis. The following day he underwent craniotomy and decompression surgery with frontal-basal lobectomy. After the operation, he was transferred to intensive care with a reserved prognosis. On April 10, the CT scan highlighted a worsening of the patient's condition so much so that he was expected to die. On April 11, the attending doctors interrupted the sedation that supported the patient for 24 hours and the following day he no longer showed any signs of a neurological reaction. On April 15, the protocol was opened to declare his brain death. From 10 to 27 April the patient remained suspended between life and death. Informed of his very serious condition, the members of the Charismatic Renewal of the place began to organize moments of prayer for his recovery. From April 17 they addressed their invocations to Blessed Elena Guerra and, considering the persistence of the man's serious conditions, the prayer was intensified and extended for nine consecutive days. On April 27, after 21 days of hospitalization, doctors found an improvement in the patient's condition, who responded to painful stimuli and was breathing spontaneously. Two days later he was transferred to the surgery department, starting first passive and then active physiotherapy. On May 14, the patient was discharged in good condition. The further checks, carried out monthly and then annually, highlighted the patient's good state of health and the absence of alterations resulting from the trauma suffered.

The Oblate sisters whom Guerra founded continue her mission today in Italy, Cameroon, Canada, Philippines, and Rwanda.

Sources: https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/elena-guerra.html