Bethlemite Superior General Visits Tenerife to Advance Canonization Cause Ahead of Vatican Trip
Sister Irma Cecilia Fuentes, Superior General of the Bethlemite Sisters, is visiting Tenerife to honor local religious sites before traveling to the Vatican to present documentation supporting the canonization of Blessed María Encarnación Rosales.
The visit of Pope Leo XIV to Tenerife has brought a flurry of diplomatic and spiritual activity to the island, drawing high-ranking religious figures from around the world. Among them is Sister Irma Cecilia Fuentes, Superior General of the Bethlemite Sisters. During her stay, she attended services at the Los Llanos dock and shared her plans to pray for the local community before the image of the Virgin of Candelaria.
The Bethlemite congregation, which has deep historical ties to the Tenerife-born Saint Brother Peter, is based in Bogotá. Sister Fuentes’s visit to the Canary Islands—which included stops in Vilaflor and Santa Cruz—is a precursor to an upcoming trip to the Vatican. Her mission is both administrative and religious: she intends to personally deliver documentation to the Pope to support the canonization of Blessed María Encarnación Rosales.
The canonization process, overseen by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, requires extensive evidence of a candidate’s exemplary life. During an audience scheduled for the 17th, Sister Fuentes will present several volumes containing signatures of support for the cause. The timing of this delivery, coinciding with the Pope’s visit to the islands, highlights the significance of the order’s current efforts.