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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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The Vatican has rejected claims that a 19th century Puerto Rican missionary was the Virgin Mary.
Cardinal Víctor Fernández clarified claims about Elenita de Jesús in an August 1 letter to the bishop of Caguas, Puerto Rico, citing the latest rules for evaluating alleged apparitions in the Catholic Church.
Elenita de Jesús "is not the Virgin Mary," Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote in the letter. Any attempt to identify her as Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary "should be completely avoided," he added.
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The Vatican has been contacted for comment via email.
The letter acknowledged the importance of Elenita's work, saying she had "lived under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, in charity and in the proclamation of the Gospel, inspired by a profound love for our mother in heaven, the Virgin Mary."
Fernández noted that she had served the church "at a decisive moment in history, when the Catholic faith was seriously threatened" and that people had called her "mother" because of her virtues.
"It is true that in her life we find signs of her great union with the suffering of Jesus Christ, and that in many of her gestures the affection of Mary, the Mother of heaven, was prolonged," he wrote.
"Various testimonies say that she looked like the Virgin and some, in an excess of admiration, made the mistake of affirming that she was the Virgin," Fernández wrote.
"Certain expressions that perhaps she herself used, could confuse, but in those days, when the missionary catechists of these places felt very identified with some saint, they used words that actually meant 'I am from, 'I identify with.'
"Today we don't express ourselves that way because it causes confusion. Therefore any expression of appreciation for Elenita must avoid the impression of affirming that she was the Virgin Mary."
The cardinal continued that "before any attempt to attribute to Elenita de Jesús the identity of the Lord, or of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the judgment cannot be other than 'constant de non supernaturalitate' [clearly not supernatural]. Elenita de Jesús is not the Virgin Mary."
He added that "it cannot be denied that the figure of Elenita de Jesús has great value" for the church in Puerto Rico.
"Certainly, it would be a joy for her if those who love her used her figure as a motivation to dedicate themselves only to God and avoided directing toward her the gestures of veneration that correspond to the Mother of Jesus Christ. It is better not to damage this treasure by distorting its original meaning."
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