Blessed María Felicia Guggiari Echeverria
Also known as
- María Felicia of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
- María Guggiari y Echeverría
- Chiquitunga – her father’s pet name for her as a child
Profile
Eldest of seven children born to Ramón Guggiari and María Arminda Echeverría, she was baptized on 28 February 1929, and made her First Communion on 8 December 1937. Against her parent’s wishes, María joined Catholic Action in 1941, serving as a children‘s catechist and working with the poor; she made a personal vow of chastity in October 1942. While working with Catholic Action, she met and fell in love with medical student and fellow member Saua Angel, but in May 1951, Angel finally answered a call to the priesthood, and went Maria’s support, went off to to study. This caused Maria to begin to reconsider her own vocation in the world, and in 1953, against the strong objections of her family, she started the religious exercises that would lead to her becoming a Discalced Carmelite nun on 2 February 1955. She continued to stay in contact with Father Angel, and nearly 50 of her letters to him, along with poetry and other assorted writings, have survived.
Born
- 12 January 1925 in Villarica del Espiritu Santo, Guairá, Paraguay
- 27 March 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI (decree of heroic virtues)
- 23 June 2018 by Pope Francis
- the beatification recognition was celebrated at the Estadio Cerro Porteño, Asunción, Paraguay with a Cardinal Angelo Amata as chief celebrant
Readings
Bridegroom of my soul, You know my desire for apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls, help me to know where you want the complete consecration of all my being. – Blessed Maria
Father, for Your glory accept the total surrender of my being in union with the perfect sacrifice of Your divine Son. In Him, through Him and with Him I live, love, believe, suffer and die. Choose Your heart as a place of my eternal home. – Blessed Maria
Jesus I love You! What a sweet encounter! Virgin Mary! – Blessed Maria’s final words
MLA Citation
- “Blessed María Felicia Guggiari Echeverria“. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 September 2021. Web. 14 May 2024. <>