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María Josefa Alhama Valera, now known as Mother
Esperanza, was born in Santomera (Spain) on September 30, 1893, into a very
humble family. Her father was a day laborer in the fields and her mother was a
housewife. She was the eldest of nine siblings.
María was only 12 years old when she received the
inspiration to spread devotion to the Merciful Love of Jesus. She was a very
intelligent girl, which caught the attention of a neighbor of the family. The
neighbor advised them to take her to live with the parish priest of the city
and his two sisters, so that she could receive some education. This was the
only education Maria Josefa received, because she never had the opportunity to
go to school.
At the age of 21, she left for Villena with the
great desire she had nurtured since childhood to become a saint like Teresa of
Avila.
In Villena, she joined the Daughters of Calvary,
changing her name to María Esperanza de Jesús Agonizante. Later, the
congregation merged with the Claretian Missionaries, and she herself thus
became a Claretian.
God had other plans for Sister Esperanza. On
Christmas Eve 1930, in Madrid, in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, she
founded an association called “Las esclavas del Amor Misericordioso” (Slaves of
Merciful Love).
Together with her new sisters, she opened several
schools in Spain to provide shelter and a hot meal to orphaned and poor
children affected by the war.
In 1936, she moved to Rome to open a new community
of the Slaves of Merciful Love with some of her sisters.
She worked with her sisters on the outskirts of
Rome, taking in orphaned girls. Later, World War II broke out. In addition to
poor children, many sick people began to arrive at her congregation, trusting
in the care of the little sisters. They had to reinvent themselves as nurses
given the number of wounded from the bombings in Rome.
After the war, in 1951, Mother Esperanza moved to
Collevalenza, in the province of Perugia, Italy. There, she founded the male
branch, “The Sons of Merciful Love.”
She died on February 8, 1983. She was beatified
with Pope Francis’ approval in Collevalenza on May 31, 2014.
Her remains are venerated in the crypt of the
Shrine of Merciful Love, which she built in Collevalenza. Her liturgical
memorial is on February 8, the day of her birth into heaven.
Mother Esperanza, like Padre
Pio?
In Italy, Mother Esperanza is often compared to
Padre Pio because of some similarities in the miracles performed through them.
Like Padre Pio, she was capable of bilocation. At
night she fought with the devil, who inflicted various injuries on her. At one
point, she also had the stigmata of Jesus Christ. However, she asked God for
the grace to remove the wounds because she couldn’t work with her hands.
There’s still a living witness to the many
miracles of Mother Esperanza: Pietro Iacopini. He started as a young atheist,
but thanks to her he became a believer and accompanied the blessed for 35
years.
Among the most important miracles is the episode
in which she fed 500 people with the little food that one of those present had
donated. Iacopini recounts that the level of the pots of food remained the same
without emptying. A true “multiplication of the loaves"!
Other events witnessed by Iacopini include: when
money rained from the sky and was used to pay the workers who built the shrine
(many witnessed this miracle); the appearance out of nothing of a statue of the
Baby Jesus that was to be displayed in the manger; and occasions when many
people, including the bishop of Todi (Italy), witnessed her various states of
ecstasy.
The miraculous well
One day, Mother Esperanza, on the orders of Jesus
Christ himself, ordered that a hole be dug in the mountain at the place she
indicated. She claimed that they would find a source of miraculous water there.
The construction companies she called refused to
do the work, saying that it was impossible to get water in such a dry place.
Eventually, a very important company from northern Italy agreed. They said that
they would do it only because of the money they would receive, and that it
would be free money.
To their amazement, one night they managed to find
water after digging several meters deep.
The workers immediately called Mother Esperanza to
tell her that they had found water. She looked down into the hole to see the
water, but it was very dark. Then, the whole well lit up, to the amazement of
the workers, seminarians, nuns, and lay people present. They were able to see
the water flowing in the depths of the well thanks to that miraculous light.
Jesus told Mother Esperanza: “I want to use you as
food and sustenance for many souls. May my sons and daughters draw from you the
substance of this work to give me much glory in this Shrine, with the sweet
perfume of sacrifice, prayer, renunciation, and the continuous exercise of
charity and love towards those most in need.”
The shrine’s basilica, designed by Spanish
architect Julio Lafuente, was built on the site where the water was found.
It consists of 10 chapels, the most important of
which are the Chapel of the Crucifix of Merciful Jesus, the Chapel of the Child
Jesus, the crypt where the body of Mother Esperanza lies, and the altar
dedicated to Mary, Mediatrix of Mercy.
At the two side entrances, under a cone of light,
are two white marble holy water fonts, contrasting with the rough stone that
supports them. They symbolize the soul purified by the grace of God.
Not far from the basilica are the pools where
pilgrims immerse themselves to receive grace through the “Liturgy of the
Waters,” led by the priests of the Sons of Merciful Love.
Thousands of pilgrims arrive every year and are
welcomed by the entire “Charismatic Family of Merciful Love” in facilities
where they can stay for several days or just for the day, visiting with faith
the places that Mother Esperanza had built for them.
