By Nemesio Rodríguez Lois
Holder of a Law degree from the Universidad Ibero Americana (1974)
President Emeritus of the Network of Catholic Communicators between 2010 and 2013.
Author of ISABEL LA CATOLICA. SU LEGADO PARA MEXICO (2013)
We will begin by saying that God has wanted to integrate us into a great family in which each member is called to seek the good of their neighbor.
Through the Catholic Faith, we know that death does not break the bonds that unite us as Christians.
As a consequence of this, devotion to the blessed is an expression of the Dogma of the Communion of Saints, which precisely teaches us how death never breaks the bonds that unite Christians with Christ Our Lord.
It is a Dogma of Faith that the saints, besides interceding for us and granting us favors, are models for us to imitate.
In this way, the saints are our older siblings who, with their example and intercession, help us so that we may join them and – once reunited – present ourselves gloriously before Christ the King.
On another note but within the same theme: How much sadness overwhelms and how much one suffers who has no friends or cannot turn to them when needed.
And returning to the Dogma of the Communion of Saints, we see how the blessed who already enjoy the beatific vision are our friends who, whenever we ask, are ready to offer us their help.
Our "friends" here on earth may fail us; however, the FRIENDS we have in Heaven (that is, the saints) are always ready to listen and intercede for our petitions, as long as it is for our good.
That is the explanation for why, when the Church raises a particular person to the altars, it aims for two purposes:
- To present an example of how it IS possible to live the Faith to the fullest.
- To show the entire world how – from that moment on – there is a new intercessor before God.
All this theological introduction comes to the point because, in the event that Isabella the Catholic were raised to the altars, several benefits would arise, such as a better understanding of the strong personality of a holy woman and staunch defender like Saint Teresa.
By knowing her life and work, Isabella the Catholic would be recognized as a great defender of human rights, as evidenced when she condemned Christopher Columbus' attitude upon learning that he had enslaved some Indians in Hispaniola.
"By what right does the Admiral enslave my subjects?" asked the outraged Queen.
At that moment, thanks to the zeal of the Great Queen, the foundations of Public International Law were being laid, which are based on respect for the human rights of all peoples.
And it is because the feat of Evangelization and Civilization of the New World was not a war of conquest and destruction like the hordes of Attila, but rather a liberating enterprise in which those who were joining the Church were also becoming aware of their dignity as human beings.
Now, the fact that Isabella the Catholic were raised to the altars (first beatified and then canonized) would bring many spiritual, social, and material benefits not only for Spain but also for the rest of the Hispanic World.
We will mention what, in our opinion, are the most important ones.
It would confirm the missionary sense of the Conquest of America, which was not limited to discovery and colonization but went further by launching the most important missionary enterprise of all time.
An unparalleled enterprise of which Isabella was a fundamental pillar.
As a consequence of the above, beatification would help understand the true reasons for Spain's presence in America, reasons that were purely missionary.
And since Spain, thanks to Isabella the Catholic, was the Missionary Nation par excellence, this made Spain become a "chosen people" in the service of the Catholic Faith.
Derived from the fact that Spain was the Great Missionary Nation, in the realm of Faith, the benefits of possible beatification would be that the Catholic religion we profess would grow, since the woman who brought the Faith of Christ to the lands of America would be sanctified.
And it is thanks to the Great Missionary Enterprise that Isabella set in motion that prominent social benefactors arose who did so much good to these peoples.
Thanks to Isabella, it was possible – to mention some examples – for great missionaries like the Venerable Vasco de Quiroga to civilize the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro (Michoacán), for Saint Junípero Serra to Christianize California, for Brother Pedro to help the needy in Guatemala, or for the Jesuits to civilize the Guarani in Paraguay.
And without reaching the supreme level of sanctity, within that civilizing impulse, there were figures who built hospitals, roads, schools, castilianized, racially unified different ethnicities, and even the surprising case of the Augustinian missionary Fray Diego de Chávez building the Yuriria Lagoon in Guanajuato (Mexico) to alleviate the hardships of the inhabitants suffering from the rigors of a semi-desert climate.
All these spiritual and material feats would not have been possible if Doña Isabella had not given them the first impulse.
Since our peoples are Catholic, the desired beatification would be one more reason for the peoples to be more religious and, therefore, much of what was lost would be recovered.
There is no doubt that this would give a great boost to the New Evangelization that the Church asks of us today, since man needs sensible impulses that help him better understand the dogmas of the Faith and the norms of Morality.
And we conclude with the opinion that several personalities have given on this matter.
In letters published in the Spanish magazine IGLESIA-MUNDO in issues 285-286 (autumn of 1984), two Mexican bishops expressed the following:
"How wonderful it would be for Hispanic America if in the year 1992 the figure of such an extraordinary woman shone in the sky of the Universal Church"
(Monsignor Antonio López Aviña. Archbishop of Durango)
"For Spain, it would be a jewel in the already rich diadem of saints that adorn the brows of such a noble Motherland and for Mexico, a joy and an immense honor since thanks to the decided boldness and above all to the radiant impulse of faith of this most noble Lady it was what made possible not only the discovery of America but also the implantation of the Catholic faith in these fertile lands"
(Monsignor Rafael Muñoz Núñez. Bishop of Aguascalientes)
Likewise, in issue 419 of IGLESIA-MUNDO, on the occasion of the IV Inter-American History Congress promoted by FUNDICE in October 1990, two distinguished intellectuals also gave their opinion:
"The beatification of Isabella would be a kind of ratification of the missionary sense of the conquest of America"
(Alberto Caturelli. Argentine philosopher)
"It would be a great stimulus for the entire Hispanic World, as well as a recognition of its enormous value as a truly Christian queen, as the great architect of the adventure of the three caravels that brought us a beautiful language –for me the most beautiful in the world– the highest of all religions and also lordly customs that merged with the also lordly customs of the indigenous people"
(Agustín Basave y Fernández del Valle. Emeritus Rector of the University of Nuevo León)
And we conclude with the opinion of Don Carlos Abella, former ambassador of Spain to the Holy See (1996-2004), who said that an injustice was being committed with Isabella the Catholic, which is why he requested her to be made a saint.
And the painter and writer Pilar de Aristegui referred to Isabella as "the woman of the millennium".