Pope declares Spanish mystic 'blessed,' advances other sainthood causes

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Using what the Vatican called an "equipollent" or equivalent beatification, Pope Francis recognized as "blessed" a 15th-century Spanish abbess, mystic and preacher.

The pope signed decrees in four sainthood causes as well as the beatification declaration Nov. 25 for Blessed Juana de la Cruz, who was born Juana Vázquez Gutiérrez in what is today Numancia La Sagra, Spain.

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints said she probably was born May 3, 1481, and fled to the Monastery of Santa Maria de la Cruz in La Ciroleda, joining a group of Third Order Franciscans after her father and uncle promised her in marriage to a local nobleman. She made her religious profession in 1497.

She had mystical visions and received the stigmata, which are wounds resembling the crucifixion wounds of Christ, and for six months lost the ability to speak. A biography on the dicastery's website said, "Completely healed, she obtained the gift of preaching."

The following year, she was elected abbess although she had yet to reach her 28th birthday.

She died May 3, 1534, and the official cause for her canonization opened. After decades the process was halted because the Vatican said the original documents needed for the case had been lost. The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints said they were found again in 1977 and the cause proceeded.

With panels of historians and theologians verifying her virtues and writings, as well as the fact that since her death there has been an uninterrupted remembrance and veneration of her, the cardinals and bishops who are members of the dicastery voted Nov. 5 to petition Pope Francis to declare her blessed.

The four decrees Pope Francis signed Nov. 25 regard:

-- A miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria Troncatti, a Salesian sister born in Italy in 1883 who became a missionary in Ecuador in 1922. She died in a plane crash in 1969. The recognition of the miracle clears the way for her canonization.

-- The martyrdom of Vietnamese Father Francis-Xavier Truong Buu Diep (Jan. 1, 1897-March 12, 1946) at the hands of Caodaist militants after he was taken prisoner with poor landowners he was trying to defend. Recognition of his martyrdom paves the way for his beatification.

-- The martyrdom of Floribert Bwana Chui bin Kositi, a 26-year-old layman from Congo, who was a member of the Congolese branch of the Community of Sant'Egidio, which called him "a martyr of corruption." After graduating with a law degree in 2006, he became a customs officer known for his repeated refusals to accept bribes to allow harmful and spoiled food into the country. Kidnapped July 7, 2007, his body was discovered two days later with evident signs of torture.

-- The heroic virtues of Auxiliary Bishop Josip Lang of Zagreb, Croatia, who lived 1857-1924. A miracle attributed to his intercession would be needed for his beatification.