New step in sainthood cause of dad-daughter pair

Pope Francis has paved the way for the beatification of a young Spanish laywoman, recognizing this May 21, 2022, a miracle attributed to her intercession.

Maria de la Concepción Barrecheguren y García (1905-1927), known as Conchita, was a young woman born in Granada with very poor health, so much so that her parents could not send her to school. Her father, Venerable Francisco Barrecheguren Montagut, took charge of her education, preparing her for catechism so that she could receive her first Communion and confirmation. At a very young age, she felt the call to become a Carmelite nun, taking St. Therese of the Child Jesus as her model, but several new serious illnesses prevented her from doing so.

Conchita contracted tuberculosis after a pilgrimage to Lisieux at age 21. She knew her life would be short and she died in 1927, at age 22. Her mother died 10 years later, and her father eventually became a Redemptorist, and was able to witness the first steps of his daughter's cause for canonization.

People said that Conchita was a saint because she had had a holy father, but he responded that it was his daughter who, with her holiness, inspired him in his Christian life. They were recognized venerable together by Pope Francis in May 2020.

The miracle attributed to Conchita's intercession was the healing of a two-year-old Spanish girl in 2014.

Also today, the Pope approved for canonization two people:

~ Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, a patron of migrants. Scalabrini, who served as Bishop of Piacenza, Italy, in the 19th century, is the founder of the Congregations of the Missionaries of St Charles, which have as a special charism the mission of serving migrants.

~ Artemide Zatti, an Italian layman who emigrated with his family to Argentina in the late 1800s, and who became a Salesian co-worker and missionary in Patagonia.

Five men and two women will now be recognized as venerable, following the official proclamation of their heroic virtues.

These include a Polish laywoman, Janina Woynarowska (1923-1979), a poet and nurse who is known for her dedication in caring for various types of infirmity, despite herself suffering from a serious physical impairment. She combined social and charitable activities with poetry. Sustained by a firm faith, she became a Professed Member of the Secular Institute of Christ the Redeemer, making her profession to the then-Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyła (St John Paul II). She died in a car accident in 1979.

Also included is a Filipino prelate, Teofilo Bastida Camomot (1914-1988), coadjutor archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, the Philippines, and founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Teresa.

This Filipino from Cebu felt called to work for the poor at a very young age and was ordained in 1941. He was a parish priest for 12 years before joining the Discalced Carmelites who had just settled on the island to become their prior.

In 1955, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Jaro by Pius XII, then archbishop coadjutor of the missionary diocese of Cagayan de Oro by John XXIII. Between 1962 and 1965, he participated in three sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome. After suffering from kidney disease, he had to resign in 1970 and returned to Cebu, where he lived out his life, caring for the poorest of the poor on a daily basis and being considered a saint by his community. He died tragically in a car accident, his driver having fallen asleep at the wheel.

Luigi Sodo (1811-1895), Bishop of Telese-Cerreto Sannita, Italy;

José Torres Padilla (1811-1878)

Jôao Pedro di Sesto San Giovanni, born Clemente Recalcati, (1868-1913), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, Capuchin, founder of the Missionary Capuchin Sisters of Saint Francis of Assisi in Brasilia;

Alfredo Morganti, known as Berta, (1886-1969), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor;

Mariana of the Holy Trinity, born Mariana Allsopp González-Manrique, (1854-1933)