María del Carmen González-Valerio
Encyclopedia
Venerable Maria del Carmen González-Valerio y Sáenz de Heredia (March 14, 1930 - July 17, 1939) was a Spanish
girl who is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church
and is being considered for sainthood. She was declared a venerable
by Pope John Paul II
on January 16, 1996.
She was born into a noble, militantly Catholic and Spanish Nationalist family and lived during the turbulent Spanish Civil War
. She was a cousin by marriage of politician José Antonio Primo de Rivera
. As a child she was known for her deep piety. Her father, Julio González-Valerio, the second son of the Marqués
de Casa Ferrandel, was taken away in 1936 by a group of militia men to be executed. He told his wife, Carmen, to tell their children that: "Our children are too young, they don’t understand. Tell them later that their father gave up his life for God
and for Spain
, so that our children may be raised in a Catholic Spain, where the crucifix
reigns over in schools." Their mother sought refuge at the Belgian
Embassy in 1937, while Mari Carmen and her siblings were cared for by aunts. The children were also granted asylum
when the ambassador learned that the Communists planned to abduct the González-Valerio children and send them to Russia
to be raised as Marxists.
The family later sought safety in San Sebastian
and Mari Carmen was sent to a boarding school, School of the Reverend Irish Mothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Zalla
. She prayed for the conversion of the men who had killed her father. She offered up her own suffering and death for the conversion of politician Manuel Azaña
. Supporters for her canonization
say that Azaña was converted on his deathbed in 1940. After weeks of illness, Maria del Carmen died of scarlet fever
at the age of nine years, four months. She had initially predicted she would die on July 16, the feast day of her patron saint
, Our Lady of Mount Carmel
, but when she learned her aunt would be married on that day, she said she would die on July 17, the following day. Her last words were reportedly "I die as a martyr
. Please, doctor, let me go now. Don’t you see that the Blessed Virgin has come with the angel
s to get me?" and "Jesus, Mary, Joseph
, may I breathe forth my soul
with you." Witnesses at her death bed said her body emitted a sweet perfume
and she did not look dead.
, and Masons
. Her maternal grandmother, Carmen de Manzanos y Matheu, Marquesa de Almaguer, had close ties to the Church hierarchy thanks to her title and her work to promote the Sacred Heart
. The Sacred Heart of Jesus was promoted largely by ultra-traditionalists who protested against liberal government policies. The rest of her family also held close ties to the winning side in the Spanish Civil War. Efforts to canonize Mari Carmen's father failed early, but the child proved a more promising candidate for canonization. Hagiographies of Mari Carmen also present her as an ideal role model for other Catholic children in her practice of her charity, her obedience to her parents, her self-discipline and self-sacrifice, and her extreme modesty.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
girl who is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and is being considered for sainthood. She was declared a venerable
Venerable
The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
on January 16, 1996.
She was born into a noble, militantly Catholic and Spanish Nationalist family and lived during the turbulent Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. She was a cousin by marriage of politician José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquis of Estella , was a Spanish lawyer, nobleman, politician, and founder of the Falange Española...
. As a child she was known for her deep piety. Her father, Julio González-Valerio, the second son of the Marqués
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
de Casa Ferrandel, was taken away in 1936 by a group of militia men to be executed. He told his wife, Carmen, to tell their children that: "Our children are too young, they don’t understand. Tell them later that their father gave up his life for God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and for Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, so that our children may be raised in a Catholic Spain, where the crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
reigns over in schools." Their mother sought refuge at the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Embassy in 1937, while Mari Carmen and her siblings were cared for by aunts. The children were also granted asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
when the ambassador learned that the Communists planned to abduct the González-Valerio children and send them to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to be raised as Marxists.
The family later sought safety in San Sebastian
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
and Mari Carmen was sent to a boarding school, School of the Reverend Irish Mothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Zalla
Zalla
Zalla is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
. She prayed for the conversion of the men who had killed her father. She offered up her own suffering and death for the conversion of politician Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña Díaz was a Spanish politician. He was the first Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic , and later served again as Prime Minister , and then as the second and last President of the Republic . The Spanish Civil War broke out while he was President...
. Supporters for her canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
say that Azaña was converted on his deathbed in 1940. After weeks of illness, Maria del Carmen died of scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
at the age of nine years, four months. She had initially predicted she would die on July 16, the feast day of her patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
, but when she learned her aunt would be married on that day, she said she would die on July 17, the following day. Her last words were reportedly "I die as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. Please, doctor, let me go now. Don’t you see that the Blessed Virgin has come with the angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s to get me?" and "Jesus, Mary, Joseph
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph.The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family...
, may I breathe forth my soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
with you." Witnesses at her death bed said her body emitted a sweet perfume
Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
and she did not look dead.
Canonization efforts
Her prominent family made a case for her canonization following her death, presenting the witnesses who had witnessed her death and heard her dying words and producing a diary Mari Carmen had kept. She had written "Long Live Spain! Long Live Christ the King" which was a battle cry given by those killed fighting in the Spanish Civil War. She told a nurse in the hospital: "My father died as a martyr. Poor mommy! And I am dying as a victim." For the child, Azaña was an representation of the government who had killed her father. She told an aunt that she wanted to make sacrifices and pray for the men who had killed her father. Her death represented Catholic teachings of self-sacrifice and martyrdom to save others from their sins.Commentary
Critics note that Mari Carmen's life story also presents her and, by extension her father, as a martyr of the Spanish Civil War. Her hagiographies includes condemnations of Communists, JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and Masons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. Her maternal grandmother, Carmen de Manzanos y Matheu, Marquesa de Almaguer, had close ties to the Church hierarchy thanks to her title and her work to promote the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
. The Sacred Heart of Jesus was promoted largely by ultra-traditionalists who protested against liberal government policies. The rest of her family also held close ties to the winning side in the Spanish Civil War. Efforts to canonize Mari Carmen's father failed early, but the child proved a more promising candidate for canonization. Hagiographies of Mari Carmen also present her as an ideal role model for other Catholic children in her practice of her charity, her obedience to her parents, her self-discipline and self-sacrifice, and her extreme modesty.