From Forums of the Virgin Mary [translated, BEFORE VATICAN RULING]:

What we are going to tell is one of the most extraordinary facts in Marian apparitions.

Testimonies affirm that the Blessed Virgin lived for 10 years, body and soul, in a small town in Puerto Rico at the beginning of the 20th century.

It was not a fleeting apparition like all visionaries have, but rather a constant and physical presence in the midst of the community.

Direct witnesses say that a strange young woman appeared in the southeast of Puerto Rico for the first time on August 8, 1899 and died in what was later called the Holy Mountain, on September 29, 1909, the Feast of the Archangels.

She would be known as Your Mother or Elenita de Jesús.

There is no documentary evidence of this young woman’s birth or specific name, nor whether she was born in Puerto Rico; she appeared out of nowhere.

    

APPEARANCE OF AN UNKNOWN YOUNG WOMAN

Barely had Hurricane San Ciriaco left Puerto Rico , leaving devastation and more than three thousand six hundred dead in its wake, on August 8, 1899, two farmers, who were trying to rescue two stranded cows about to drown in the rising river, saw a young woman who seemed to be floating on what they thought was a “raft” on the water.

They kept watching her until she disappeared behind a rock that hid her from their eyes.

Two days later, the young woman was seen walking again and stopped at a house to reprimand a man who was mistreating a cow.

“All of God’s creatures deserve respect ,” was her teaching.

The young man returned home trembling, saying that after saying those words, the girl had vanished into thin air.

A few days later, a group of lumberjacks , while eating lunch, noticed that they were not alone at the top of the hill they had reached at sunrise.

As they approached, they saw a young woman who held their gaze without saying a word .

We reproduce what they later reported:

“Who are you, girl?”

 “I am your good fortune.”

 “Are you lost?” asked another of the lumberjacks.

The young woman did not say a word and when one of the members of the gang tried to grab her, she vanished into thin air.

The men searched for her in the surroundings, shouting what they believed to be her name: ‘Buenaventura ‘.

We owe to the Benedictine priest Father Jaime Reyes, the complete story of this “experience” of the Blessed Virgin in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. . . And having interviewed hundreds of witnesses, and children and grandchildren of witnesses. . . Who with their testimonies allowed him to round out a story of which until the time of writing his book, “The Holy Mountain and the Mystery of Elenita de Jesús” only signs remained in the hearts and memories of those who were present in those years. . . And who received from the Mother her advice, teachings and spiritual and material help.

But, let’s get back to the story, as told by Father Reyes:

“A few days later, around lunchtime, A…. grabbed a water bottle, declared a break from work, and headed toward a ravine to fetch water for everyone.

Then he descended the southern slope of the hill and entered the thickest part of the forest.

A sweet song that echoed throughout the forest stopped her walking .

The woodcutter looked in all directions, but saw no one.

The song brought great peace to his soul . Step by step he approached the place where that sonorous voice came from and when he was near the ravine, he saw her.  It was the same little woman. She was sitting on a rock, her feet playing with the water.

A…. stopped again because not only could he hear the voice of the young girl, but also the voices of hundreds of children singing in the forest, according to him, ‘in the language of the priests’ [Latin.]

Paralyzed with amazement, he stared towards the ravine and it was at that moment that she looked up and saw him standing in the middle of the grove, fig tree in hand.

After a brief conversation, the young woman stood up and began to walk away from the place .

 “It doesn’t walk! It floats!”

“It’s like someone on either side of her is carrying her!” A… concluded, seeing her walk without her feet touching the ground.                          

A luminosity that grew stronger by the second began to cover the young woman until it acquired such magnitude that it blinded the man , who instinctively dropped the fig tree and raised his right arm to cover his eyes with the back of his hand.

On both occasions when he removed the limb from his face and reopened his eyes to see the young girl, he was forced to close his eyelids and shield them again with his hand.

When the glow finally disappeared and he was able to open his eyes, it was to find himself alone by the ravine.

The lumberjack was stunned and his body, which was shaking from head to toe, lost all strength, causing him to fall to the ground.

“Holy Mary, what is this?”

As he pronounced the name Maria, he heard a male voice whispering in his ear:

“Take the water and go back to your companions!”

    

THE YOUNG GIRL GIVES DIRECTIONS AND A SPRING GLOWS OUT

A few days after that encounter, the lumberjacks were perched on ladders sawing the high branches of several trees when they spotted the same young woman they had seen on the rock floating high above them.

“My little children, good morning! Peace be with you!”

Instantly, the men lowered their gaze, not daring to look at her.

“Look at me! Do not be afraid; it is I.”      

“Mother, where were you?” “What have you done?”

“Sorry, Mother, sorry!” the woodcutters took turns saying, still not daring to set their eyes on the young girl.

“I was at home with my beloved Son.”

Little by little, the six men looked up and when they discovered that the young woman was still high up, floating between the branches of a nearby tree , concern took hold of them.

 “Mommy, be careful, you’re going to fall!” they said in unison.

 “I want you to build me a hut here,” she told them, smiling.

The men looked at each other in amazement, since the task required a stream in the surrounding area that would supply enough water for all the work involved in building a house.

Finally, one of them dared to ask:

 “Make a hut right here, Mother?”

“There is no water in all this!” 

 “I want my hut here. Don’t worry about the rest .”

The next morning the men carried construction tools up the hill and cleared the plot of land selected by the mysterious visitor to build her humble home .

Shortly before noon the young woman reappeared before the group.

 “This is where my house will be built, which is for all my children, you first.”   

 “Yes, Mamita, we know; your hut is going to be built here, but the water is very far from all this ,” answered one of the men.

“Go there and get some water!

“Wash and get water to drink!” the young woman ordered.

 “ Mommy, that’s a dry place; it doesn’t have water!; those are dry stones!” Adolfo said.

“Come on, go and get some water!” replied the young woman.      

“Hurry up, hurry up, Mommy is in charge!” Adolfo ordered.

The group set off towards an area in the northern part of the summit, where a granodiorite rock stood out among smaller stones. To  their amazement, when they reached the rock formation, they discovered that fresh, crystal-clear water was gushing out from where there had previously only been piles of stones.”

We have tried to reproduce the dialogues verbatim as they were recorded by the testimonies of those who experienced them, but from now on we will have to make only a brief summary of what would not fit into hundreds of books.

    

ELENITA OF JESUS ​​OR YOUR MOTHER

That was the name the mysterious visitor wanted to be called from the beginning. It could be due to the meaning of the name Elena, which means “bright light like the sun”, “dazzling clarity”. All of these names could well be applied to our Mother in Heaven.

The story continues with the construction of the little house that the young woman had asked for and that the woodcutters built in four days, roofing it with palm leaves on two sides, with a balcony in front.

“Once the construction of the house was completed, the men arrived at the mountain with their usual work tools to continue the sawing work that had been suspended due to the construction of the hut.

The young woman was waiting for them.

A great glow emanated from it , leaving the woodcutters speechless with amazement for a few moments.

Their joy at seeing her was so great that they all exclaimed at once: “Mommy, Mommy, good morning!”

 “Peace be with you, my little children.”

 “Mommy, we’ve finished your hut and we’re off to work,” the crew chief announced.

 “Come on, let’s give thanks before we start our chores . Or have you already done so?”

 “No, we haven’t, but we will when we start,” the boss replied.

The young woman remained silent and motionless before them , so the workers, one by one, removed their pavas (wide-brimmed straw peasant hats ending in fringes) and knelt on the ground .

 “Repeat after me, my little children:

“Oh God, I thank you for taking care of me during the night…
Oh God, I thank you that you guard my mind so that I do not think of any bad thing during the day. ..
Oh God, I thank you that my eyes do not look at or desire anything forbidden.. .
Oh God, I thank you for my mouth; no bad word comes out of it. ..
Oh God, I thank you that my heart does not contain anything bad for my neighbor, who is my brother.”

At the conclusion of the prayer, the men, still with their heads bowed, made the sign of the cross.

“Go to work, my little children!”

That day was dedicated to cutting wood, yagua vines and palms.

When evening came, they returned to the hut to meet with the woman whom everyone now called ‘Mamita’ to give thanks for the tasks completed.

Then they set off for their homes.

On the way to San Salvador they stopped at houses along the way to give notice that:

“Mommy is in her hut to impart Christian doctrine to everyone.”

    

ELENITA’S WORK BEGINS

In this way, pilgrims began to climb Cerro Las Peñas , some with their families to see Mamita and listen to her sermons.

Thus began what A…. described as:

“To hold meetings in a holy place, because from the first day that She appeared as a child, that whole mountain was blessed.”

Perhaps we should interrupt the story to describe what life was like among the Puerto Rican peasantry.

Alcohol, violence, carnal vices, lack of respect for women, neglect of children, everything darkened the lives of the poor people of San Lorenzo.

The arrival of Elenita de Jesús was like a ray of sunshine in a dark tunnel .

Father Reyes tells it like this:

The news of “Mamita”’s arrival in San Lorenzo spread like wildfire throughout the coffee-growing region in the southeast of the island.  And  shortly after her home was built, dozens of peasants from nearby places and others who traveled great distances to reach the top of the mountain to hear her preach from the balcony of her humble wooden house with a thatched roof, filled La Santa Montaña.

Just before addressing those present, whose number often exceeded one hundred, by order of Our Mother a picture of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was placed on the balcony of the little house. And as a flag, a blue cloth with flaming golden stars, extremely similar to the color and ornaments of the tunic of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

       

BUT, WHO WAS THE MYSTERIOUS “ELENITA DE JESÚS”?

As time went by, Our Mother revealed her identity to her Puerto Rican children.

When asked who he was, he would say:

“ I witnessed the death of Jesus.”
.“ I am the Mother of all men.” .
“ I am the Lady of all peoples.” .
“I am the one who suffered greatly when Jesus died on the Cross” and
“I am the Queen of Heaven and Earth.”

The first time Our Mother manifested herself as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

“ It was when he stopped one of his sermons at La Santa Montaña to tell a listener who had commented: “

Elenita looks like a little Dutch girl when she preaches,” who would stare at her face to determine her true identity.

Upon doing so, the man fell to his knees and identified her in front of everyone as the Virgin of Carmen, insisting that he had seen her crown and the glow coming from it.  From  the moment she called herself “Mother Redeemer,” she began to wear a cap with an “M” and an “R.”

       

TEACHINGS AND PREACHING

The sermons, which Elenita gave on Wednesdays and Fridays at six in the afternoon, were announced by blowing a snail shell or an ox horn , whose sound was already recognized by the workers returning from their work.

Elenita de Jesús’s speech, delivered from the balcony of her little house, was intended to teach, in simple language and with native expressions that the peasants understood perfectly.

She announced the Gospel so clearly and explained so illuminatingly how each teaching of Her Son should be applied in daily life , that little by little, the lives of the people of San Lorenzo began to change.

“…he emphasized the importance of dedicating children to God, of praying – even in any place and position, first to God, then to the Virgin Mary and the saints.
Of  the constant recitation of the Rosary, of not sinning, of helping one another, of giving to those in need, of treating one another as brothers and sisters and of the family gathering to eat, thus staying united.
Many  times he reviewed the principles of the catechism before the crowd to prepare those who had not yet received the sacraments.”

According to Father Reyes, there were countless pilgrimages that Elenita led to take “her little children” to the local churches, to receive the sacraments, Baptism for the children and Marriage for those who lived in concubinage .

Generally, the priests welcomed Elenita’s requests to grant the sacraments.

Always in the story of Father Reyes:

“The farm  

Our Mother established a self-sustaining charitable trust on the summit of Cerro Las Peñas, which all the inhabitants of San Lorenzo and surrounding towns referred to as ‘The Holy Mountain.’

There he not only preached, but also performed miracles , taught children to read and write , offered help to those in need, and taught his disciples to challenge the colonial economic system to which they were subjected by uniting their efforts and selling handicrafts, mostly baskets.

Elenita had a circle of close associates whom she called “her disciples,” who were the ones who organized the arrangement of the enormous amount of tasks that she taught.

Sewing, cooking and cleaning tasks, caring for and feeding animals, planting food, making baskets and hammocks, washing clothes, felling trees, building and maintaining structures, as well as keeping watch on the San Lorenzo farm were carried out by the disciples who lived in La Santa Montaña.

Elenita traveled around the area, always bringing her bright and loving presence to all who saw her, in what her people called “the Missions.”

He did not rest, except on days when he disappeared from everyone’s sight.

The Mother had warned them that on the days of liturgical feasts She had to return to heaven , but the peasants called these absences “days of confinement.”

It was during those days that his cabin seemed to reveal a great internal glow, a light that came out of it .

The guards did not let anyone approach during those days.

The only people allowed into Elenita’s hut were “ Our Mother’s Girls,” who were also part of Mamita’s inner circle . These girls, between the ages of six and twenty and from nearby villages, would stay on the mountain for two, three, or four weeks at a time. While they were with her, Our Mother taught them catechism, prayers, sewing and other household chores, manners, good habits, how to be good daughters and wives, how to treat other people, how to not be abused, how to read and write, and the basics of arithmetic.” 

Since Elenita received visits from important people, priests and landowners, her disciples built a chapel about three meters from her cabin and next to it a small house , where they placed armchairs for the comfort of the visitors.

They also built another room for sewing work.

       

THE MISSIONS, THE MIRACLES

The testimonies multiplied:

“Our Mother preached for four hours or more in the places she visited and her presence always inspired respect and fear of God .

The number of people who came to receive instruction on the word of God, to be prepared to receive the sacraments or to be cured of illnesses was increasing .

It was enough for someone to say that he was sick or that he felt pain in some part of his body for Mamita to lay her hands on the affected part and he was immediately healed.”

During the ten years she lived “on Borinquen soil,” Elenita “gave evidence of her power over movement, time, the elements, nature, disease, the sun, sound, matter, gravity and evil in the presence of her disciples, priests and the crowds who attended her sermons .”

The wonders of “Our Mother” amazed everyone. She multiplied food, transformed into a dove, appeared and disappeared, “ stopped the movement of the sun, separated the waters of swollen rivers so that she could pass from one bank to the other, levitated on countless occasions and exercised control over the fauna .”

The frogs and birds were silent when she preached, if someone came galloping to attack her, because there were powerful people who were upset by her sermons, the horses knelt before her, etc.

On one occasion she was shot and she lifted her Scapular and the bullets landed on her skirt.

On another occasion, it was enough for her to enter a Temple for all the lights to turn on and the bell to begin ringing.

Another of Elenita’s hobbies was music .

He loved to sing hymns and taught many to sing them.

He gave away instruments and taught them how to use them.

His voice was heard from afar.

The stories of those who, elderly at the time of telling it to Father Reyes, were children when they saw her, recalled that Elenita always wore a Crucifix hanging from her head, which she gave to kiss “For good and salvation .”

She was seen wearing three habits : a black one for Lent, a brown one like that of Carmen, with a rope around her waist and a large rosary hanging.

He also sometimes wore a white habit and sometimes even a red one.

It is impossible here to recount all the wonders that Elenita de Jesús performed during the years she lived with the people of Santa Montaña, all the love she gave to those people of simple heart and deep faith. We will limit ourselves, then, to recounting what she called “the change ,” which was when she disappeared definitively.

Reyes summarizes the gifts that this woman exhibited,

• Appeared and disappeared instantly
• He could turn into a dove
• He prophesied events that were going to happen
• I could read people’s minds
• I knew people’s names before they identified themselves
• He healed the sick
• He multiplied the food
• The animals obeyed him
• He had power over water, the sun, fire, air and other natural elements.
• He had the ability to cast out demons
• Just by his presence he was able to convert atheists
• And he evangelized and catechized without rest

    

“THE CHANGE”

Our Mother knew that her presence was well known in all the surroundings, so she was very clear that in order to disappear, she had to die, since otherwise, her disciples and her beloved people would be criminally accused for her absence .

She was preparing everyone for that moment, giving instructions on what they should do in each case.

Always from Father Reyes’ book we extract the following story:

“Two or three years before leaving, Our Mother began to beg her disciples to pray to Daddy God (the name by which she referred to Jesus) to allow her to shed his blood on the Holy Mountain “for the forgiveness of all sinners, since this will be a special blessing for Puerto Rico.”

During the year and a half prior to her departure , Our Mother began to prepare her closest disciples so that they could face the moment of their final farewell with serenity.

When they were told that they would not see her for a long time, everyone thought it would be another one of “her confinements . ”

But it would be the final separation.

This confinement lasted 40 days and was only seen by one of her girls, Francisca , who always accompanied her and gave her precise instructions.

“ Around September 22, 1909, Our Mother told Francisca what she should do with the blood she would shed , as well as where to place her body and the candlesticks for the wake, which was to last three days.

Meanwhile, the authorities heard about Our Mother’s ‘disappearance’ and two officers showed up to verify that she had not suffered any mishap.

Not seeing her, they threatened everyone with jail if Elenita did not appear, which happened.

She greeted the officers and told them that she was fine.

When they left, the Mother told them again:

 “I had already told you that if I did it that way, all my beloved children would end up in jail.”

 Immediately afterward he said to them:

“I want to be alone for the next three days to prepare myself.
.
After three days, go [to the hut] and look under my room.
.
You will see blood dripping through the cracks between the floorboards.
.
That blood will be mine, which I will shed to die.
.
Then go open my room.
.
I will no longer be here, but do not say that I have died, but that I gave my change.
.
Throw me in the box as you find me, rosary and all.
.
I will be prepared.
.
Then take me to be buried in the San Lorenzo cemetery.”

At dawn on Wednesday, September 29 , the day on which the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is celebrated, José González from San Lorenzo heard the voice of Our Mother, so he immediately fell to his knees, face to the ground.

“I have already made the change, my son, but I will be with you until the last day and I will receive you gloriously in heaven.”

Looking up, Gonzalez realized that Our Mother was gone .

He immediately informed the other disciples of what had happened, so they all hurried to Mamita’s hut.

Seeing blood coming out through the cracks in the floor of the little house, forming a puddle beneath the structure, everyone remembered the words she had uttered on several occasions:

“Blessed is Puerto Rico if I shed my blood here!”

When the disciples discovered the blood under the hut, they interpreted this as permission to enter the house.

There they found the body of Our Mother lying on the floor of her room and noticed that it was already covered with a balm that they described as “like lilac.” 

Following the instructions of the Blessed Virgin, the group of girls collected her blood on white cloths which were placed inside several glass jars and then buried near their hut.

The judge, once notified, preliminarily determined that the change in Our Mother had not been caused by malicious hand and sentenced that: “the body of Mother Elenita now belongs to the angels.”

    

 THE “BURIAL”: AN EMPTY COFFIN?

The Mother’s body, wrapped in a sheet by the girls and placed in a coffin, began its journey to the San Lorenzo cemetery .

As they walked, people began to gather, which witnesses estimated at “about 20,000 souls.”

Upon entering the church, the disciples who were carrying the coffin assured the priest that as they advanced towards San Lorenzo and as the hours passed, the weight of the coffin began to diminish and that upon reaching the town it gave the impression that it was empty.

Once the box that claimed to “contain” Our Mother was buried, and tired and hungry after a pilgrimage that had lasted twelve hours , the people of San Lorenzo were faced with the terrible reality that “Mamita” was no longer with them.

At someone’s suggestion, they headed to Santa Peña, walking quickly along the northern slope of the mountain and when they reached the granodiorite rock, their steps stopped dead.

Standing next to the huge rock, surrounded by light, their good fortune was waiting for them with a smile.

  

RELICS AND APPARITIONS

There is no body of her.

The most precious relic is his blood , which was preserved in vials and only reappeared in 1985.

A DNA study was carried out in a laboratory and the result is that the blood belongs to a very old woman, who does not belong to contemporary times.

The blood had not coagulated or changed color , despite being decades old.

All of this is set out in sworn statements.

There are also testimonies that people who prayed for liberation before a possessed person, confirmed that the presence of earth with Elenita’s blood repelled the demon.

But there are other checks as well.

For example, Monsignor Hernández Rivera publicly asked God to send him signs to discern the identity of Your Mother.

And three private revelations that came to him said that it was the Blessed Virgin.

One of these private revelations was written in French, even though the recipient of the message did not know the language.

Also an American visionary named Cindy Cain , known as “the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” claimed to be the recipient of messages from Jesus and the Virgin Mary stating that your mother was the Blessed Virgin.

Over the years, there were testimonies that the Blessed Virgin continued to appear. In 1982, that is, 73 years after the “change” of Elenita de Jesús, two girls aged 7 and 8 saw and heard her, at the same time that one of them managed to levitate at two and a half meters high. To one of them, the Blessed Virgin gave a rosary, intertwining it between the girl’s fingers.

 

The message he gave was:

“God is very close to Earth and we are in the final stage of what is to happen.”

The pilgrimages continued and that is where Father Jaime Reyes entered history , appointed as an investigator of the phenomena by the bishop and who finally ended up being the Rector of the Sanctuary built there.

Several internationally renowned Marian visionaries came to the shrine along with their respective spiritual advisors, one of them was Marija Pavlovik (one of those from Medjugorje).

The latter said in public during her visit in 1992: “ I don’t know why Puerto Ricans travel to Medjugorje, since they have Our Lady here on the Holy Mountain.”
    

THE EXHUMATION

Juan M. Pedró, the gravedigger from San Lorenzo for decades, told a journalist in 2005 that in 1991 he had been commissioned to open the pantheon where Elenita had been “buried” in the old San Lorenzo cemetery and remove the coffin where Our Mother’s body had been placed in 1909.

At noon on Holy Wednesday of that year, upon receiving the order to open the tomb and remove the box, he discovered that the coffin was empty.

“That is very strange,” he said, “because there are always remains, bones, in pieces or in dust.” He confessed to having stayed nearby, and heard witnesses to the exhumation say that they had expected to find at least a shawl or a rosary, but there was nothing there; the box was full of air.

   

THE FINAL REPORT

Unfortunately, political pressure resulted in the decision that the person called “Elenita”, who had lived in San Lorenzo between 1899 and 1909, had the surname “Huge”.

And the Catholic Church has not yet commented on the case despite the testimonies collected by Father Reyes.

But that does not convince many residents of San Lorenzo and Santa Montaña, who know that the Holy Mother of God did indeed live among their grandparents for ten years.
And
that she healed them physically and spiritually, taught them to live the Gospel, taught them the Love of God and gave them her luminous presence, full of maternal kindness.

And we, believers of today, look with holy envy at the gift given by our beloved Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary to Puerto Rico, and Psalm 147, 20 comes to mind:

“He did not do the same with other nations.”

Hail Mary Most Pure, conceived without sin.

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