Santa María Guadalupe García Zavala, named Mother Lupita, was co-founder of the Siervas of Santa Margarita Maria and of the Poor. His life was linked to the care of the sick, poor and abandoned people in Guadalajara. In the Mexican religious persecution he protected priests and also treated wounded soldiers. The Church canonized it in 2013.
Where is he?
The point is located at the Hospital Santa Margarita de Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. OpenStreetMap identifies the building as the 12035050 ratio and Nominatim responded HTTP 200. The precision is verified_building: the map shows the cartographed hospital associated with his work, not a measurement of the interior of the tomb or all the places of his congregation.
Documented history
Maria Guadalupe was born in Zapopan, Jalisco, on April 27, 1878. His father had a shop of religious objects in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan, so that from a child he often visited the church and grew up near popular devotion. The biography of the Holy See describes her as a simple, friendly and attentive young woman.
At the age of twenty-three he was engaged in marriage, but he discerned a call to consecrate himself to God and to care for the sick and poor. His spiritual director, Father Cipriano Iñiguez, shared the project of founding a congregation for hospital service. Together they began the Servas of Santa Margarita María and of the Poor. Maria Guadalupe began to care for the sick in very simple conditions and was elected Superior General, a position she maintained throughout her life.
The congregation went through economic difficulties. With the permission of his spiritual director, Mother Lupita and other sisters went out to ask for help on the streets to support the hospital and its patients. The pontifical source presents this gesture as a concrete way of accepting a sober life and putting the goods at the service of those who suffered, not as a scene to be adorned with details that do not contain.
During the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico, he hid in the hospital some priests and the archbishop of Guadalajara, Francisco Orozco and Jiménez. The sisters also attended to soldiers who persecuted the Church and healed their wounds. The Vatican biography notes that, following this treatment, some soldiers eventually protected the religious and the sick. The congregation opened eleven foundations in Mexico during its life.
Maria Guadalupe died in Guadalajara on June 24, 1963, at the age of eighty-five. He was beatified by John Paul II in 2004 and canonized by Francis on May 12, 2013 together with Laura Montoya and the martyrs of Otranto. The hospital and the congregation keep the memory of their service.
Marian Tradition and Devotion
The name Guadalupe refers to the Mexican Marian tradition and its childhood was linked to the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan. However, the sources consulted do not present a Marian apparition associated with it. His devotion is expressed in religious consecration, in charity and in the care of the sick. Mary is venerated as Mother and intercessor; worship corresponds only to God.
The protection of priests and the care of enemy soldiers are part of the history transmitted by the pontifical biography. They are narrated as acts of charity in a context of persecution, without turning them into miracles or attributing to them a supernatural meaning that the source does not declare.
Ecclesial State
Santa María Guadalupe García Zavala es of the Catholic Church. It was beatified on 25 April 2004 and canonized on 12 May 2013. This state refers to the recognition of his holiness and not to a Marian apparition.
Anecdotes and stories
The scene of the religious asking for help so that the hospital could continue to function summarizes a spirituality of poverty and service. Another significant scene is the care of the wounded without distinguishing between friends and persecutors. Charity was not limited to those who could return the favor: it also reached those who had caused suffering to the Church and the community.
Prayer
Santa María Guadalupe, pray for the sick, for those who care for them and for the communities that go through persecution or poverty. Ask the Virgin Mary to make us merciful to all and teach us to serve Jesus Christ in those who suffer. Amen.