Pope Francis will beatify the Spanish Ana de Jesús

Ana de Jesús, a Discalced Carmelite born in Spain and considered the “right hand” of Saint Teresa of Ávila, will be beatified next Sunday, September 29, by Pope Francis in Brussels, capital of Belgium.

The highlight of the short trip that the Holy Father will make to Luxembourg and Belgium will be the beatification of Ana Lobera Torres, known as Ana de Jesús, at the Balduino stadium in the Belgian capital, the country where the future Spanish blessed died.

From Thursday, September 26, to Sunday, September 29, the Pontiff will travel to the heart of Europe to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Catholic universities of Leuven and Leuven la Neuve.

It should be noted that, during the weekend, Pope Francis will hold a meeting with a group of refugees and will also hear several testimonies from victims of abuse within the Church.

After the massive closing Mass, which will be celebrated on Sunday at 10 am local time and attended by nearly 32,000 people, the one who was the spiritual daughter of Saint Teresa of Ávila and friend of Saint John of the Cross will be closer to the altars.

Born Ana de Lobera y Torres in the Spanish city of Valladolid in 1545, this nun helped spread the Discalced Carmelites to France and Belgium in the early 17th century.

Ana de Jesús grew up in a humble family, although known among the Spanish nobility, and lost her parents when she was very young.

She was deaf and mute until she was 7 years old, when she began to speak, and from a young age she had a clear vocation to religious life, which led her to reject numerous suitors who proposed to her.

At the age of 24 she entered a convent of the order of the Discalced Carmelites in the city of Ávila, where she met Saint Teresa. Later, the Spanish saint moved her to the newly inaugurated convent in Salamanca.

During this journey, they made a stop in Macera, and it was there where he met Saint John of the Cross, who became his faithful friend and a key person in his vocational life.

After founding in other cities such as Granada and Madrid, in August 1606 he received a request from the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia to found in Brussels, which he accepted with the condition of also bringing the Carmelite friars.

On January 22, 1607, Ana de Jesús inaugurated the first Belgian Carmel, of which she was appointed prioress, a position she held until the day of her death, on March 4, 1621. Last December, Pope Francis approved the attributed miracle. to his intercession.