Open Letter regarding the Beatification of Sister Benigna was received by Pope Francis

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has informed Amaiben, on July 21 of 2020, through e-mail, that the personal Secretary of the Pope confirmed the receipt of the “Open Letter to the Pope Francis” and the five volumes containing almost 40.000 signatures. From this date on, they became part of the documentation of the Process of Beatification of Sister Benigna, which is currently in the Roman phase. Thus, is concluded a step that lasted about two years, with an outcome much expected by the friends and devotees.

Here we present the content of the e-mail and its translation:

The Open Letter to Pope Francis for the beatification of Sister Benigna was a popular clamor from the people that, through the Association of Friends of Sister Benigna - Amaiben, that respectfully asked to the Supreme Pontiff for his attention regarding the Process of Beatification of the Servant of God. The initiative, which involved thousands of people, counted with the permission of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Belo Horizonte, Dom Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo, current President of the CNBB, who also signed the Letter. The movement received the support of the Congregation of Auxiliary Sisters of Our Lady of Pity – CIANSP, counting with the signature of its superior, Madre Teresa Cristina Leite, and the other religious of the congregation which the Servant of God belonged to.

Belo Horizonte, 03/28/2018

To Mrs. Maria do Carmo, to the coordination of AMAIBEN and to the Auxiliary Sisters of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, health and peace!

There is no objection to the collection of signatures in support of the Cause of Beatification of the Servant of God, Sister Benigna.

I always recommend prior agreement and the definition of the modalities with the Priest in charge of the Parish.

My blessing,

Dom Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo - Archbishop of Belo Horizonte

Document written by Dom Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Belo Horizonte and current president of the CNBB to the President of Amaiben, Dona Maria do Carmo Mariano, allowing the gathering of signatures for the Letter.

The gathering of signatures was envisioned with great criterion. In order to avoid duplicity, an application form was created with sequential numbering, full name, identification document and signature of the participants. It was also made necessary the presentation of an official document, at the moment of the signature, for verification and registration in a computer program developed to check if the person had already signed. Voluntary teams were created for this work, with a permanent team on the Church of Saint Joseph, downtown of Belo Horizonte, two other teams to go through several parishes of the Archdiocese, including Sabará, and another that visited the places where Sister Benigna has lived and also Sete Lagoas, headquarters of Amaiben and Rio de Janeiro, where there are two schools of the Congregation.

A great popular mobilization set the tone of the work made in the collection of the signatures, which started in march of 2018 and involved people from all ages and social class, along with many families, all with great desire to participate and contribute to the Process of Beatification of the Servant of God. In Belo Horizonte, besides the Church of Saint Joseph, several churches and parishes were continuously visited, for about five months, among them, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Good Voyage, Church of Our Lady of Fatima, and the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Conception of the Poor and Saint Judas Thaddeus. The teams also gathered signatures in several meetings of the catholic community Gospa Mira and in the celebration of the Mass of Unity, of the archdiocese. With great effort, the volunteers dedicated themselves to the cause in the diverse hours, days and weekends. The wide movement from the believers called the attention of the mass media.

For the other cities, a team was sent, leaving the capital in caravan, in the Benikombi, a vehicle used on the social works of Amaiben, which served as a support point for the works. On Rio de Janeiro, it remained from march 17 to 24, in the schools of the congregation. Many families of students and residents of several neighborhoods came to sign the Letter, in gratitude to Sister Benigna for received blessings. Many teenagers and teachers, with satisfaction and joy, made sure to participate of that moment.

In the country area of Minas Gerais there was also a great movement and involvement from the people of each region, who requested the signature collection in their cities, as Lavras, Diamantina, Itaúna and Sete Lagoas. With the permission of the bishops from the dioceses and parish priests from the Churches, the team then addressed to those places.

In Lavras, where Sister Benigna lived for 16 years, the work happened in two steps. In the first one, from march 26 to 27, the gathering happened in the School Our Lady of Lourdes, and had a massive participation of students, teachers, employees and their families. The second step happened in april 5 to 15, in the churchyard of the Main Church of Saint Anne. Part of the team remained in this location, and the other part addressed to houses of the people who were unable to move, either by medical reasons or age. During all this time, the people from Lavras provided food, water and even a tent to the team, to help them in their work.

In Diamantina, homeland of the Servant of God, in the churchyard of the Cathedral of Saint Antony, a tent was set up to collect the signatures for the Letter. In this period, which happened in April 24 to May 06, Sister Benigna was honored by her fellow citizens, with a special presentation by the Military Police Band of the city and during two editions of the event Vesperata. The work counted with great participation of the residents of the city and its surroundings, as well as visitors, who signed the request to the Holy Pope.

In Itaúna, where Sister Benigna professed her perpetual votes, the work was done with great support and effort from the city residents. The signature collect was held at the churchyard of the Main Church of Saint Anne and at the place of the event Kairós de Pentecostes. People from all over the region seeked to sign the Letter and many of them shared their memories of the time of interaction with Sister Benigna and the blessings that they had already received.

On the month of June, during the festivities of Saint Anthony, the teams functioned simultaneously in three locations. Besides Belo Horizonte, they addressed to the city of Sete Lagoas, where the headquarters of Amaiben is located, to perform the work at the Cathedral of Saint Antony, on June 13. Also, they addressed to Sabará, on the Archdiocesan Sanctuary of Saint Antony of Roça Grande, establishing there two signature gathering points, at the old Church and the at new one, on June 10 to 13. In this occasion, besides the great participation of the people of the cities, a lot of pilgrims made sure to sign the Open Letter to the Pope Francis.

The signature gathering works extended until August 16 of 2018, the date of the anniversary of birth of Sister Benigna. The pages that registered the desire of thousands of teenagers, children, adults, elderly, religious, bishops and priests of different locations were gathered and binded, observing the sequential number and resulting in 5 volumes with almost 40 thousand signatures. To accompany the Letter and these 5 volumes, a booklet was drafted in Italian, containing texts and pictures to present to the Holy Pope the history of the devotion, of Amaiben, a prayer group that gathers countless people for about 40 years, ever since the passing of the Servant of God, as well as the efforts that involved this great movement.

The Open Letter, the 5 volumes of signatures, the presentation booklet, some editions of the Sister Benigna Newspaper and the Book "Friends talk about the Servant of God Benigna Victma de Jesus", sent to the Holy Pope Francis.

Due to the intense popular mobilization and tireless effort and dedication of so many people, after concluded the several steps of this long work, in May of 2019 the Open Letter to the Pope Francis was sent to the Supreme Pontiff. In July of 2020, through the information of The Congregation for the Causes of Saints to Amaiben, all of those who participated of this great popular clamor, have now the long-awaited confirmation of its receival by the Holy Pope.

Copy of the Open Letter to Pope Francis for the Beatification of Sister Benigna.

AMAIBEN - Associação dos Amigos de Irmã Benigna

Belo Horizonte, 16 de Maio de 2018

His Holiness,
Pope Francis,
Bishop of Rome and Supreme Shepherd of the Church,
Vatican State City
ROME

Holy Father,
With deep respect and fully aware of our smallness in the face of Your Holiness, we come through this letter to ask You to look with attention to the desire of many catholics, devotees of Sister Benigna of the SERVANT OF GOD BENIGNA VICTIMA DE JESUS (PROTOCOL NUMBER: 2962 – BEATIFICAZIONE SdD BENIGNA DE JESUS – al. Sec. Conceição Santos), some of them subscribers of this request, that our dear Sister Benigna be, as soon as possible, declared Blessed, so we can pay her, as our Intercessor to Jesus and Our Lady, the due worship.

Humbly, we supplicate to Your Holiness, that has declared to the world: “witnesses, martyrs”, those “everyday saints”, those who “live ordinary life with consistency”, but also those who have the courage to be “witnesses to the very end, unto death”. They all are “the lifeblood of the Church”. They are the ones who lead the Church forward, witnesses; those who testify that Jesus is risen, that Jesus lives, and they testify with consistency in life and with the gift of the Holy Spirit” – Santa Marta Homily 04/07/2016. And who also, inspired, affirmed: “Dear friends, the world needs saints and we are all called to holiness without exception. Don’t be afraid!” Twitter 11/1/2017

Sister Benigna was a black nun, very fat, ill, with only primary education, from poor origin, but who undertook the religious life with devotion and faith in Our Lady. She made no distinguish of people, was always available to pray when requested, because she believed that it was the hour of God. She had Hail Holy Queen as her favorite prayer. She was always a joyful person, despite her tribulations and persecutions. Someone who was already considered, in life, a saint, who never sought anything for herself, always for the people. Many are the reports of those who knew her in life, some of them which are still alive. She, who brought many towards God through her joy, service, consistency and prayer. Sometimes, misunderstood and persecuted. A saint of the people, recognized by the people. And it’s this same people that humbly come to Your Holiness to ask for your intercession so that soon we can have her on the altars. She was always available to everyone who came to her when she was alive, and today, even more, to those who seek her intercession. We beg to the Holy Father to declare her Blessed, so that many others can seek the powerful intercession of Sister Benigna.

Today, there are many people who consider her as the Saint of Abundance, the Saint of the Hour and the Saint of the Hail Holy Queen, many who find in her legacy ways and answers to the solution for great problems that devastate people, families, the Church, and the entire mankind. Her answer comes from the simplicity, humility, the faith in God and in Our Lady, in the trust in the Divine Providence, in the conscious prayer. Several priests, bishops, religious, beside the people, recognize her as Saint. We need that the Church, officially, recognize her. Many blessings, many conversions, many miracles happened, when she was alive, and many more happen now. Humbly, we ask Your Holiness, to listen to our outcry.

It is with the confidence that the Holy Spirit accompanies you and inspires you in the conduction of your pontifical work, that Our Lady loves you so very specially and that Jesus takes you on his arms, that we count with your attention to our request. We are always in prayer for you and your work, always asking Sister Benigna to intercede with God for our Pope Francis and protect you from all of those who arm themselves against our Church. We finalize asking for a special bless to all the friends and devotees of Sister Benigna, those who had the opportunity to sign this letter and those who couldn’t.

With our respect and our obedience,

(The almost 40.000 signatures of the devotees who voluntarily signed this Letter are included on the 5 volumes identified in the annex)

AMAIBEN - Associação dos Amigos de Irmã Benigna
Rua Alarico de Freitas, 196
Bairro Vila Brasil
Tel.: 3771-2222
Sete Lagoas - MG - Cep: 35.700-123
Belo Horizonte - MG
Tel.: (31) 3471-5014

Photo gallery from the gathering of signatures