Moisés Lira Serafín

Upon returning to Mexico in 1928, Father Moisés Lira Serafín engaged in intense pastoral activity in Mexico City. He dedicated himself particularly to spiritual direction, the sacrament of reconciliation (notably among prisoners and the sick), and the promotion of the interior life. The heart of his work lies in the foundation of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Charity of Mary Immaculate (Misioneras de la Caridad de María Inmaculada). Sensitive to the social and spiritual distresses of his time, he wished to provide an evangelical response to the needs of the poorest. On March 29, 1934, in Mexico City, he blessed the first House of Charity, marking the beginning of the community life of the first sisters, with the foundation becoming fully effective on April 18, 1934. The institute's mission is to help all people discover themselves and live as beloved children of God. The religious sisters dedicate themselves to the service of the sick, the elderly, and the Christian education of children and young people, especially those lacking formation. Father Moisés guided his spiritual daughters on the path of spiritual childhood, inviting them to be "missionaries of the Father's love like Jesus the Son." Nicknamed the "Apostle of Goodness," Father Moisés passed away in Mexico City on June 25, 1950, after having devoted his final strength to spiritual exercises and the celebrations of Holy Week despite his severely deteriorated health.

The reputation for holiness of Father Moisés Lira Serafín spread rapidly after his death. The cause for beatification was officially opened at the diocesan level on February 4, 2000, and closed on September 18, 2001. On March 27, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby declaring him Venerable. On December 14, 2023, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to his intercession. This miracle concerns the unexplained healing of an unborn child in 2004. In the fifth month of pregnancy, the fetus was diagnosed with fetal hydrops (idrope fetale), a generally fatal accumulation of fluid. Faced with this alarming diagnosis, the mother prayed with faith to the Venerable Moisés Lira Serafín in the form of a novena for nine days. During a follow-up examination in the sixth month of pregnancy, the doctor noted with astonishment that the hydrops had completely disappeared and that the fetus was in perfect health. The baby girl was born by cesarean section on September 6, 2004, completely healthy.

Father Moisés Lira Serafín was solemnly beatified on September 14, 2024, during a Eucharistic celebration at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The ceremony was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. The following day, September 15, 2024, during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis warmly greeted this beatification, recalling that the new blessed spent his life "helping people to progress in faith and love for the Lord" and inviting his apostolic zeal to encourage priests to give themselves unreservedly for the spiritual good of the people of God. His liturgical memorial is set for June 25, the day of his birth into Heaven. His mortal remains have rested since 2014 in the National Expiatory Temple of San Felipe de Jesús in Mexico City.

The spirituality of Blessed Moisés Lira Serafín is based on the doctrine of spiritual childhood and divine filiation. His spiritual motto summarizes his path to sanctification: "It is necessary to be very small to be a great saint" (Es necesario ser muy pequeño para ser un gran santo). For him, holiness is simple: it consists of union with God and a constant "yes" of love to His will. He nurtured an absolute trust in God, whom he contemplated as an infinitely loving Father, going so far as to say that He is "a God a thousand times more Mother than Father." This trust is accompanied by a deep Marian devotion to Mary Immaculate. He taught his spiritual daughters that "nothing that is for God passes without going through the hands of Mary" (Nada que sea para Dios que no pase por las manos de María). His legacy continues today through the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Charity of Mary Immaculate, who carry on his work of evangelization, care for the sick, and education of the most destitute in Mexico and throughout the world, bearing witness to the paternal tenderness of God.