California woman who had visions of Jesus, Virgin Mary moves closer to canonization as saint
A Los Angeles woman who had visions about Jesus, Mary and Virgin Mary was closer on Friday to becoming a Catholic saint.
Blessed Mary De Leon, who suffered from post-concussive syndrome, spent time in a Catholic parish and studied the sacraments and became an ordained priest as a result of her visions.
Now, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will move forward with the Vatican’s approval of a canonization request for the “pious, humble, modest and simple” parishioner.
The request was made last week with Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, head of the Catholic Church’s global diocese, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the National Catholic Register in Washington, D.C.
The Vatican responded to the canonization request by saying that it would be “highly improbable” that Mary De Leon would be beatified.
But she has a “special place” in history, the Vatican wrote, and was “worthy of promotion to sainthood.”
“While the Church considers it improbable, and we need to review the documentation and assess whether to approve the action of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, this is a good step in the healing process,” said Archbishop Gomez, in an email.
It’s the latest in a series of recent events related to the canonization of Mary De Leon.
In 2009, she was a guest on a late-night talk show called “The Steve Harvey Show,” and the host asked her about her Catholic faith.
She said, “My faith is very very important in my life,” and that “Jesus loves us all, no matter our color, gender, religion or skin color.”
After taking a DNA test, she told the host, “I’m a Catholic by blood.”
She also went to Catholic church. She attended the San Bernardino parish of St. Anthony of Padua, and later, as a parishioner, founded a parish in Compton, where she had an altar built for Jesus in her room, she said.
She was ordained as a Catholic priest by the Diocese of Los Angeles on May 16, 2016