Cause for Sainthood Opened in New Jersey of Modern Mystic

Hat tip to Catholic Fire on this one:

Nearly 1,100 faithful flocked to the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi on Sunday afternoon to attend a Mass and ceremony officially opening the Roman Catholic Church's investigation into a Venezuelan woman's possible sainthood.

So many attended, about 300 had to be ushered next door to the parish's Catholic Youth Organization building, where a movie projector simulcast the canonical opening of the beatification and canonization cause of Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini, who is believed to have seen 31 apparitions of the Virgin Mary...

Who is Mrs. Maria Esperanza?

Maria Esperanza was born in Monagas State, Venezuela, on November 22, 1928. From an early age, she exhibited a life of virtue and devotion to God, and was endowed with special charisms like supernatural knowledge, healings, visions, and the ability to read the hearts of others. Her gifts and virtues attracted many followers. In 1954, she married Mr. Geo Bianchini and they had six daughters and one son. She and her husband raised their children in an exemplary manner and she continued to use her spiritual gifts to assist souls and to form the consciences of all who sought her counsel.

On March 25, 1984, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Maria Esperanza and 150 of her associates at a tropical farm named Betania, 50 miles south of Caracas. Our Lady manifested herself in Betania under the title: “Mary, Virgin and Mother, Reconciler of all Peoples and Nations.” These apparitions were approved in 1987 by the local Bishop, Monsignor Pio Bello, in consultation with then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. (Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005.)

This supernatural event in Betania thrust Maria Esperanza into the international limelight and she was then required to make many trips abroad to announce Our Lady’s message of family reconciliation and fraternal unity. Throughout her life, Maria Esperanza was an extraordinary example of humility, hope, and unconditional love.

During her travels, she visited the United States often, particularly New Jersey, where she spent the last eight months of her life. After a protracted illness, Maria Esperanza passed away in Long Beach Island, New Jersey on August 7, 2004, at the age of 75. A beatification process is usually conducted from the place where a candidate resided or died; hence, the cause of Maria Esperanza is being initiated in New Jersey.

In an article written by Michael H. Brown she is descibed in the following way:
"She is widely regarded as the greatest living mystic. The miracles that surround her are vast -- among the best documented in Church history. Not since Padre Pio, the famous Italian priest now set for canonization, has there been a thaumaturge, a "wonderworker," of her scale. She's a seer. She's a healer. She's a stigmatist. She often exudes an inexplicably beautiful fragrance. Some even claim to have seen her in levitation."

Read the rest here at Spirit Daily.