Vatican approves devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows of Chandavila, Spain

By Vatican News

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith "gladly gives its consent" for Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo of Mérida-Badajoz to proceed with the declaration of the proposed "nihil obstat," so that "the Shrine of Chandavila—which is an heir to a rich history of simplicity, few words, and yet much devotion—may continue to offer to the faithful who wish to approach it, a place of interior peace, consolation, and conversion."

The Prefect of the Dicastery, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, articulated this in a letter that Pope Francis had approved on August 22.

It came in response to a July 28 letter from the Spanish Archbishop regarding events in 1945, in which two young girls are said to have seen the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows in the Spanish town of Chandavila, in Extremadura, near the Portuguese border.

According to the guidelines published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on May 17, the "nihil obstat" recognizes "many signs of an action of the Holy Spirit," even if "no certainty is expressed about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon."

The move encourages the diocesan Bishop to appreciate the pastoral value and to promote the spread of this spiritual proposal, including through potential pilgrimages to a sacred site, while the faithful are authorized to "prudently adhere to it."

The story of Marcelina and Afra

The devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows in Chandavila began towards the end of World War II with the spiritual experiences of two girls, ten-year-old Marcelina Barroso Expósito and seventeen-year-old Afra Brígido Blanco, who separately experienced these events in the same place starting in May 1945.

"Marcelina," wrote Cardinal Fernández, "recounts that, at first, she saw a dark shape in the sky. At other times, it became more apparent that this shape was the Virgin of Sorrows, with a black mantle full of stars, on a chestnut tree. More than the vision itself, this girl had the profound experience of feeling the embrace and the kiss that the Virgin gave her on the forehead. This assurance of Our Lady’s close and affectionate presence,” the Cardinal noted, “is perhaps the most beautiful message.”

“Even though, as the days went by,” he observed, “both she and Afra identified the figure as the Virgin of Sorrows, what stands out the most is the presence of the Virgin that instills consolation, encouragement, and confidence. When the Virgin asks Marcelina to walk on her knees through a stretch of dry chestnut hedgehogs, thorns, and sharp stones, she does not do so to cause her suffering. On the contrary, she asks for her confidence in the face of this challenge: ‘Do not be afraid; nothing will happen to you.’”

Tenderness of Mary

“This call of the Virgin, to trust in her love,” the Cardinal Prefect continued, “gave this poor and suffering girl hope, and also the experience of feeling dignified. Is that simple mantle, made of reeds and grasses with which Our Lady protected the girl’s knees, not a beautiful expression of Mary’s tenderness?”

“At the same time,” he added, “it was an experience of beauty because the Virgin appeared surrounded by luminous constellations, like those that could be admired at night in the clear sky of the small villages of Extremadura, Spain.”

Discreet lives of service

After the alleged visions, said Cardinal Fernández, the two girls led "a discreet and inconspicuous life" dedicating themselves to "works of charity, especially to caring for the sick, the elderly, and orphans, thereby transmitting to those who are suffering the sweet consolation of the Virgin’s love that they had experienced."

Many aspects indicating Holy Spirit’s action

For all these reasons, Cardinal Fernández wrote Archbishop Rodríguez Carballo, "there is nothing one can object to in this beautiful devotion, which presents the same simplicity that we can see in Mary of Nazareth, our Blessed Mother. Many positive aspects indicate an action of the Holy Spirit in so many pilgrims who come, both from Spain and Portugal, in the conversions, healings, and other valuable signs in this place.”

The Cardinal finally recalled the Jubilee of 2020 that took place there on the 75th anniversary of the spiritual experiences that took place in Chandavila, a jubilee year recognized by the then- Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz "as a blessing for the Diocese."

One can read the full letter of the Prefect in English on the website of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.