The following comes from a February 25 release from Christian Newswire.
A petition for a cause of sainthood of Father Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF (+1981), has been presented to Archbishop Jose Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.
This petition for Father Aloysius’ sainthood is timely. “From my perspective, the Catholic Church urgently needs examples of heroic sanctity and holiness, especially here in California. There is a need to counteract the terrible scandals of the recent past,” said the Rev. Kevin Manion, his personal secretary for many years. “Father Aloysius was in charge of seminary formation. He trained priests to be holy. If there is anything needed today, it is priests who are holy.”
Father Aloysius was a well-known Claretian missionary who had a reputation for holiness among clergy and laity within the archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was also known as a miracle worker throughout Southern California, Arizona, and Texas.
His assignments with the Claretians included seminary formation, novice master, rector, pastor of parishes, chaplain, and other specialized ministries. Throughout his 50 years of priestly ministry he became an ardent promoter of the message of Our Lady of Fatima. He is a founder of a religious order of men, the Missionaries of Perpetual Adoration, located in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.
During the 1950s and through the 1970s, he was visited by the humble and famous alike. In many cases people reported miraculous cures. Father Aloysius attributed the graces which Our Lord worked though him, to God’s mercy. Among his many gifts, Father had the charism of reading souls, expelling demons, and the gift of prophesy.
Father Aloysius had a “unique presence”, as he reflected peace and goodness. He was always grateful to God for the many graces which God granted in request to his prayers on behalf of others. He attributed his special charisms to “God’s Divine Mercy” for the salvation of sinners.
A Memorial Mass will be held at his gravesite in San Gabriel Mission, San Gabriel, CA (Mission Dr. and Ramona Ave) on Saturday, April 06, 2013 at 10 a.m. Please call the Claretian Missionaries at 626-443-2009 for further information.
Films and books about Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria include:
The Angel of Biscay (DVD by Ignatius Press)
Aloysius by Francis Levy
The Life of Fr. Aloysius by Rev. Charles Carpenter, MAP
(one copy available on Abe Books)
Sister Mary Mediatrix – A Mystic in America by Jeff Moynihan
To read original release, click here.
On Easter Saturday, April 06, 2013, (the Saturday just before Mercy Sunday) at 10 a.m. the Father Aloysius 32nd Memorial Mass will be held at his grave site in San Gabriel Mission, San Gabriel, CA (Mission Dr. and Ramona Ave). Please call 626-443-2009 for further information.
I remember as a Catholic school student in the 1950’s that the nuns often spoke of him, and twice he visited our school. The nuns were so pleased that I thought this man must be practically a living saint. I wish I could remember him better, but I will never forget how excited the nuns were to know he was coming, and how they repeatedly shared their excitement with us all.
In those days, our much-loved school held 72 well-disciplined children in each Grades 1 – 4 classroom, 3 to a desk, and he was moved to see how crowded we were yet so happy and well behaved, the best student sitting in the middle of the chair and two other students sitting on either side, feet in the aisles, but loving every minute with those wonderful nuns.
What a wonderful memory you have. May I ask what Catholic school it was, and do you remember the names of the sisters?
Our school was the then new Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School in Tujunga, which was associated with a wonderful little stone church which has long since been replaced nearby by a more modern edifice and sold to the Protestants.
Father Aloysius just stopped by to visit briefly a couple of times; there was no special program, and I am not sure whether his two visits can be confirmed by any written records. But I will never forget them.
The only name I can remember is that of my 2nd and 4th grade teacher, Sister Mary Baptist, as we called her “for short;” her proper name was Sister Mary St. John the Baptist, she told us, but kids found that too long to say each time they wanted to address her, so she went by the shorter version of her name.
When I wanted to give her a birthday present, she told me her birthday was April 31st. It took me a long time to realize there was no such day, but for the longest time I thought her very special birth date was yet another mystery of the faith!
Sister Mary Baptist created for me a safe and thrilling place to be for several hours per day, and I think of her as the living saint of my childhood. She had high and immutable standards and was full of life, love for good little children (which she helped us to become), and an all-emcompassing love of Jesus, Mary and all the saints, as well as All Things Catholic, which she imparted to us with enormous joy in her work.
What a beautiful and moving testimony to your old teacher. It is deeply edifying to read stories like this, of people quietly living lives of great goodness and holiness that bring so much happiness to others. Thank you so much, Mrs Leonard, for sharing your memories of Sister Mary Baptist and your schooldays.
Maybe holiness will catch on. Out of many millions of Catholics in California, already there are … well, several who are recognized as being holy, at least two that I know of.
Nope, I think the number’s up to three as of 6:31 p.m.!
I, too, have memories of being @ a mass offered by Fr. Aloysius @ the Claretian center in Los Angeles and that had to be around the late ‘sixties or possibly early ‘seventies. And of course his holy reputation preceded him. After the mass, he gave a talk concerning the state of the Church in America, but exactly what he said that day is lost in the mist of time for me. But I can recall an air of sanctity surrounding him. Hopefully, the petition for sainthood will be successful, and the church militant will have one more saint to pray for it who exhibits holiness, so very much needed in this age of the dictatorship of relativism which Benedict XVI has spoken so much of. GOD BLESS ALL AND ESPECIALLY FR. ALOYSIUS. MARKRITE
My wife and I love going to the San Gabriel Mission and looking at the headstones of the brothers and priests who passed on, who served the Catholic faithful with joy and humility for so many years… Father Aloysius was a renowned and holy cleric in the Archdiocese… and Father Hampsch is as well… a wonderful Claretian priest and contributor for many years at “Religion on the Line.”
Through the history of the Catholic Church, there have been a few who had the air of sainthood even as they lived their lives on earth; Pope Pius X and Padre Pio come to mind in this regard. From what I have read, Father Aloysius fits the bill as well. May God Bless him and may he pray for us. +JMJ+
Are there any prayer cards we can get for Fr. Aloysius? If so, where?
How we need this example of holy priesthood–especially in the hard hit southern California area.
I believe there are some holy priests in southern Calif.
Author Francis X. Levy has a downloadable book on Father Aloysius available on Amazon. It’s entitled “ALOYSIUS”. What’s especially valuable is the free sample of the first pages of the work. It gives what a classmate of Fr. Aloysius remembers about him in the 1920’s when he was a seminarian. I met this classmate, Fr. Miguel Atucha, CMF when I was visiting Tolusa, Spain in 1982. This historical account of Father Aloysius’ seminary life is a gem. Also, it offers us all a good Lenten meditation which rings authentic and down to earth. It also recalls to mind the style of Father Aloysius and a time before the Spanish Civil War. It’s well worth it to check out the 1st Chapter of “ALOYSIUS” at Amazon. Thank you, Francis Levy, for presenting us with a wonderful description of Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF…
Father Manion, thank you for the info. I am going to go to Amazon and check it out.
Do you have any printed holy cards for Fr. Aloysius? The first time I heard about him was when the late John Haffert wrote about him in one of his books.
I didn’t know this. What I do know is that Fr. Aloysius’ original project to found a Claretian House of Prayer in Fatima, Portugal was presented to John Haffert in a terrific letter (I can’t think of any other way to describe Fr. Aloysius’ letter). The letter posted as “Download for the Webinar”, under the Tab “Webinars”. Google “Father Aloysius” and you’ll find the “Father Aloysius” website. Do you happen to remember the name of the book written by John Haffert that you are referring to?
Father, I have every book John Haffert ever wrote and can’t remember exactly which one he talks about Fr. Aloysius. I think it is the very last book he wrote which he finished a few days before he died. That would be his autobiography. You could write to Dr. Rosalie Turton at the 101 Foundation and ask her. She worked closely with him and may be able to tell you the exact book.
I just tried to download the first chapter on Amazon and my computer won’t support it. We have dial up which may be the problem.
Hopefully, someday in the near future, I will have the money to get the book.
Although the Kindle book is downloadable, I don’t think the sample chapter is. You can simply read the chapter sample on your computer. On the other hand, $3.99 for a Kindle book isn’t a bad price. I still think you could download the free “app” to read the Kindle format. Amazon is really doing a great job of offering samples of their books. Try the site again!
I don’t have a Kindle reader so I will just wait until the book goes down in price and order it at that time. Thank you though for the suggestion.
I should add that we do not have high speed internet. Dial up, as you may or not know, is conducive to making the practice of patience a heroic virtue. :)
Fr. Manion, I enjoyed reading the first chapter of the book “Aloysius” on Amazon that you recommended. We need more canonized Catholics Saints who lived in California to help us turn California back to Christian virtue and holiness. I will keep this book in mind and thank you for the recommendation. This holy priest spoke Spanish Basque, and so have many who have lived or do live here now. Perhaps I have a new intercessor for the conversion of some people I know.
I never got to meet Father but I sure feel I have. Ive read every book writen on him and let me tell ya their isn’t a bad book. You cant put them down. I can only hope He hears my prayers that Ive prayed to Him. He is so deserving of being a Saint. In my eyes He already is. God Bless