St. Elena Prayer Rooms, Inc.
New Saint Elena Guerra
Canonized October, 20, 2024
A friend of Pope Leo XIII and a teacher of St. Gemma Galgani, St. Elena Guerra (1835–1914) is known for her spiritual writings and her passionate devotion to the Holy Spirit. In the 1890's, she called the Church to return to a devotion to the Holy Spirit to experience His presence and power.
In the 1880's, St. Elena founded Pentecost Prayer Rooms, starting in her hometown of Lucca, Italy.
St. Elena Guerra urges all to call on the Holy Spirit. She wrote:
"Pentecost is not over...it is continually going on in every time and in every place, because the Holy Spirit desires to give Himself to all...to all who want Him can always receive Him, so we do not have to envy the apostles and the first believers; we only have to dispose ourselves like them to receive Him well, and He will come to us as He did to them."
"Apostle of the Holy Spirit"
As a young woman, Elena Guerra (1835-1914) was bedridden with a serious illness, a challenge that proved to be transformative. During her long recovery, she devoted herself to meditating on Scripture and reading the writings of the Church Fathers. By age 22, she received a clear calling to promote devotion to the Holy Spirit.
- She founded Pentecost Upper Rooms , Cenacle Prayer Groups, and the Oblate Sisters of the Holy Spirit.
- Saint Gemma Galgani was one of her students.
- From 1895 to 1903, she spread devotion to the Holy Spirit & wrote 12 letters to Pope Leo XIII, urging him to encourage Catholics to open their hearts more to the Holy Spirit’s power and presence.
- In 1897, Pope Leo XIII responded by issuing his encyclical Divinum Illud Munus, a profound reflection on the Holy Spirit & His presence in the life of the Church.
- On October 15, 1900, Elena urged the pope to encourage all Catholics to pray for the new century and to dedicate it to the Holy Spirit: She wrote: “Most Holy Father, I humbly present with confidence to your Holiness that the new century may begin with the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus to be sung at the beginning of the Mass of the first day of the year.”
- On January 1, 1901, Pope Leo XIII invoked the Holy Spirit by singing the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus in the name of the Church, igniting an outpouring of the Holy Spirit around the world.
- Pope St. John XXIII called Elena an "Apostle of the Holy Spirit" during her beatification in 1959.
- Pope Francis canonized Elena Guerra on October 20, 2024.
To read St. Elena Guerra's Letters to Pope Leo XIII, go to:
Pentecost Today USA/ Resources -
Letters to Pope Leo XIII (Elena Guerra)
Pentecosttodayusa.org/resources
Divinum illud munus (May 9, 1897)
Newly canonized St. Elena Guerra once wrote:
“The mystery of Pentecost is a permanent mystery. The Spirit continues to come to all souls who truly desire Him . . . If they only want Him . . . if they only invoke Him . . . if they only prepare a place for Him in their hearts. . . . Who is hungry enough? Who is thirsty enough? Who is humble enough? Who is zealous enough? . . . It is necessary that we return to the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit may return to us.”
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