SW News: Believers in the South American nation of Peru are eagerly awaiting the beatification of a martyred Catholic nun, which is just hours away. Venerable María Agustina Rivas López, who is popularly known as "Aguchita", will be declared Blessed on May 7, Saturday, in the town of La Florida in the province of Chanchamayo in Junin region. The beatification ceremony will be presided over by papal legate Cardinal Baltazar Porras of Venezuela.

Speaking to news agency EFE in Miami, Cardinal Porras said, “I am going with great hope because, well, I have great affection for Peru for many reasons, both historical and friendship with Peruvian families and fraternity with the Peruvian episcopate.” Members of the Peruvian episcopate along with priests and religious from different dioceses are slated to take part in the beatification which will be attended by a large number of believers.

Sr Lopez, who belonged to the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Good Shepherd, consecrated her life to uplift poor children and Indigenous Peoples. Her crusade for their welfare and rights fetched her the ire of a Marxist guerrilla outfit named Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). It was a member of this armed group who gunned her down on September 27, 1990, in La Florida. On that fateful day, Shining Path guerrillas came to town and their leader read out the names on their hit list. On the list was another Good Shepherd nun Sr Luisa. However, she was not there and instead Sr Lopez was chosen. It was a 17-year-old girl who sent a volley of bullets at the nun, killing her on the spot.

The nun’s love for the downtrodden and marginalized along with her passion to defend them was recognized by the Church. The canonical investigation into her life and sanctity began on October 4, 2017, in San Ramon diocese and on May 22 last year, Pope Francis recognized her martyrdom in hatred of the faith and inked the decree authorizing her beatification, bringing her just one step away from sainthood.

Born on June 13, 1920, in Coracora, the future nun joined a school in Lima run by the Sisters of Charity when she was 14. In 1941, she joined the same congregation after being inspired by the lives of the nuns. On February 8, 1945, she made her final profession, taking the name of Maria Agustina.

She was dispatched to the mission in La Florida in 1988 when the Shining Path guerrillas were unleashing terror indiscriminately. During her stint in that town, she took special care of native women. The Shining Path’s stiff opposition to the Catholic faith was the reason why they targeted nuns and priests. They accused the Church of distracting people from the armed revolution, citing the Marxist quote “Religion is the opium of the masses”.