Teresina – Piaui, Brazil (Tuesday, 12-15- 2015, Gaudium Press) In Teresina, Archbishop Jacinto Brito will bless the new the church dedicated to Blessed Laura Vicuña, which was built with the contributions of the faithful, over the last 10 years, on the 17th of December 2015.

“My devotion started when my husband and I tried to have children. We had three children that were born alive but died soon after birth. At the precise time when I was thinking of giving up I came across the prayer to Blessed Laura Vicuña,” Ana Melo said.

To carry out the work, the community relied on the donations that were made by local people. And so the church was built in the Ininga neighborhood. The temple will be blessed by the Archbishop who will preside the dedication.

“It will be very exciting and confirmation has been given that the Archbishop will be present. My daughters will also be there. Even one of them, the oldest, I gave her the name of Laura. All are invited to participate in this moment of faith,” Ana Melo added.

Blessed Laura Vicuña, after making a promise that she would give her life for her mother’s conversion, which was lost by worldly temptations, Blessed Laura Vicuña died very young, at age 13.

Blessed Laura, who was born in Chile April 5, 1891 and died in January 22, 1904, she is still more popular in Chile and in some Latin American countries than in the rest of the world. She is the patron of abuse victims.

Forced to leave Santiago de Chile because of a revolution, her family took refuge in Temuco, but soon after her father, Jose Domenico, died suddenly, her mother Mercedes went to live with her two daughters in Argentina.

In 2013, this young girl was one of the patron saints of World Youth Day (WYD) held in Rio de Janeiro. (LMI)

From the Editor’s Desk at Gaudium Press, with information from the Archdiocese of Teresina