An February 15, 1731 ended the earthly existence of Sor María de Jesús, called “La Siervita”, patron saint of the weakest, guardian of fire, enabler of the impossible, but death with its destructive power might not gain power over her. For three days she had been in heavenly ecstasy, twenty-four hours following her last breath the blood was still coursing through her veins, and when finally the marks of Christ crucified appeared on her body, the pious woman was buried in the convent of St. Catalina of Siena in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the first capital of Tenerife. Three years later, however, she was to rise from the dead in the flesh. She rushed to the aid of the Canarian corsair Amaro Pargo and saved him from a fatal stab in the back by a Turkish pirate with her appearance at the last second. Out of gratitude and fear of God, the corsair donated a magnificent coffin to Sor María, and when the old one was opened, the miracle was seen: the nun was completely intact and uncorrupted, and she still smelled of jasmine, just like on the day of her death.
On February 15, 2022, before our eyes, the line of believers winds its way around the convent of Saint Catalina, a silent crowd full of last hope. They all want to go to the “Siervita”, whose coffin is opened year following year on the anniversary of her death so that people can see the miracle with their own eyes. Two hundred and ninety-one years following her death, the mystic is said to still have the face of a human being, and with the patience of an angel she still fulfills the wishes that the faithful throw to her on slips of paper in front of her coffin. They have been fulfilled a thousand two hundred and fifty-one times so far. The terminally ill escaped death, the blind saw the light, adversity turned to happiness, and Sor María de Jesús will certainly do a great job once more this year.
