Displaying items by tag: Postulator General

Cause of Servant of God María Carmen Crespo Roig Moves to Rome Following Closure of Process in Valencia, Spain

On February 4, 2026, at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the acts of the diocesan inquiry into the Servant of God Mother María Carmen Crespo Roig (born Teresa Encarnación), O. Carm.: thus began the Roman phase of her process of beatification and canonization, which will now continue with the preparation of the Positio super vita, virtutibus et fama sanctitatis.

Present at the opening of the acts, carried out by the chancellor, Cav. Federico Favero, were: Msgr. Ramón Fita Revert, episcopal delegate, Don Antonio Ferrando Marti, appointed by the diocesan tribunal as “bearer” of the acts of the Cause, and the Postulator General of the Order, Giovanna Brizi, who will follow the Roman phase.

Teresa Encarnación Crespo Roig was born in Beniarrés (Alicante, Spain) on March 25, 1912. From childhood, she was an active member of her parish, participating fervently in pastoral and charitable initiatives. During the religious persecution of 1936, she distinguished herself for her courage, even risking her life to assist persecuted priests and religious. In 1941, she entered the Carmelite monastery in Onteniente, receiving the name María Carmen, where she lived until her death on February 4, 2006, at the age of 93, after 65 years of religious profession. Her life was characterized by profound spirituality, constant offering of suffering, and an attitude of serenity and joy even in illness.

Her prudence and ability to give advice made her a spiritual reference point both for religious women from other institutes and for numerous lay people who turned to her for guidance. Despite her poor health from a young age and the serious illnesses that afflicted her in the last years of her life, she always maintained an attitude of acceptance of suffering, repeating until the end: “Yes, Lord, with your grace, let what you desire be done with me.”

In 2008, her sisters took the first steps to initiate her Cause for Beatification and Canonization, which was officially opened on October 15, 2011, five years after her death.  After a long process, on December 13, 2025, the diocesan phase of the Cause was closed in Valencia and the relevant documents were sent to Rome for the next phase.