What do you need to know about the Catholic Church’s newest female saint, St. Elena Guerra? Here are five things that will help you understand this holy woman, known as an apostle of the Holy Spirit.
5 Things To Know About St. Elena Guerra, Apostle Of The Holy Spirit
- At the age of 22, she became sick and was bedridden for eight years.
- She founded the Oblate Sisters of The Holy Spirit in Italy (Sisters of St. Zita).
- Saint Gemma Galgani was one of her students.
- Between 1895 and 1903, Sister Elena Guerra felt an urgent call to spread devotion to the Holy Spirit. Moved by this inspiration, she wrote twelve confidential letters to Pope Leo XIII, urging him to encourage Catholics to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit’s power and presence in a deeper way. In 1897, Pope Leo XIII responded by issuing his encyclical Divinum Illud Munus, a profound reflection on the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. He also sent a private letter to bishops around the world, requesting that the Novena to the Holy Spirit be fervently prayed leading up to Pentecost, especially at the dawn of the 20th century.
- Elena Guerra was canonized on October 20, 2024.
“Pentecost is not over. In fact, it is continually going on in every time and in every place, because the Holy Spirit desired to give himself to all men and all who want him can always receive him, so we do not have to envy the apostles and the first believers; we only have to dispose ourselves like them to receive him well, and he will come to us as he did to them.”
St. Elena Guerra
The Holy Spirit Chaplet By Saint Elena Guerra
– O God, come to my assistance. – O Lord, make haste to help me.
– Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen
Each Mystery, ask for a gift of the Holy Spirit and then repeat seven times on seven beads.
“Father in the name of Jesus, send forth Your Spirit and renew the world”
Conclude with
“O Mary, who by the work of the Holy Spirit, conceived the Saviour, pray for us.”
The Seven Mysteries invoking the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
1- Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, detach us from earthly things and infuse in us a love and taste of heavenly things.
2- Come, O Spirit of Understanding, enlighten our minds with the light of Your eternal truth and the riches of holy thoughts.
3 – Come, O Spirit of Counsel, make us docile to Your inspirations and guide us in the way of salvation.
4- Come, O Spirit of Fortitude, and give us strength, constancy and victory in the battle against our spiritual enemies.
5- Come, O Spirit of Knowledge, be the Master of our souls and help us to put into practice Your teachings.
6- Come, O Spirit of Piety, come to live in our hearts to possess and sanctify all of our affections.
7- Come, O Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, reign over our wills and make us always disposed to suffer every evil rather than to sin.
O most pure Virgin Mary, by your Immaculate Conception you were constituted by the Holy Spirit a chosen tabernacle of Divinity. Pray for us.
May the Divine Paraclete come soon to renew the face of the earth. Hail Mary…
O most pure Virgin Mary, by the Mystery of the Incarnation you were constituted by the Holy Spirit true Mother of God. Pray for us.
May the Divine Paraclete come soon to renew the face of the earth. Hail Mary…
O most pure Virgin Mary, persevering in prayer with the Apostles in the Upper Room,
you were abundantly inflamed by the Holy Spirit. Pray for us:
May the Divine Paraclete come soon to renew the face of the earth. Hail Mary…
Let us pray:
Send Your Spirit, Lord, and transform us interiorly with Your gifts. Create in us a new heart that we may please You and be conformed to Your will. We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.– St. Elena Guerra
