Blessed Concepción Cabrera de Armida
Wife, mother of nine and author of tens of thousands of spiritual pages in Mexico
- Rank
- Blessed
- Kind
- Layperson, Mystic
- Life
- 1862 – 1937
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 3 March
- Countries
- Mexico
Life story
She was born on 8 December 1862 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, the seventh of twelve children, and her full name was María Concepción Cabrera Arias. In 1884 she married Francisco Armida. Between 1885 and 1899 the couple had nine children, so most of her life was spent caring for a household.
Her husband died in 1901, when she was 39, and she raised the children as a widow. During these years as a mother and then a widow she wrote a great deal about the spiritual life; according to some sources her manuscripts run to more than 60,000 pages. Accounts of her life say these writings gave rise to several groups known collectively as the Works of the Cross, which include women's religious congregations and associations for lay people and priests. She remained a lay woman living in ordinary circumstances to the end.
She died on 3 March 1937 in Mexico City at the age of 74. Pope John Paul II declared her Venerable on 20 December 1999. On 8 June 2018 Pope Francis accepted a miracle reported to have occurred through her intercession. She was beatified on 4 May 2019 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, in a ceremony led by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu; she is described as the first Mexican lay woman to be beatified.
Works and witness
- Married in 1884 and had nine children, born between 1885 and 1899
- Widowed in 1901 and raised her children alone
- Wrote a vast body of spiritual works, by some counts over 60,000 pages
- Her writings inspired groups known as the Works of the Cross
- Beatified on 4 May 2019 in Mexico City
Saints from the same country
References
- Apostleship of the Cross, "Blessed Concepción Cabrera" (apcross.org)
- Vatican News, "Pope clears seven candidates for sainthood and beatification" (June 2018)
- The Catholic Key, "Beatification of Maria Concepcion Cabrera de Armida" (May 2019)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.