Mother Trinidad, foundress of The Work of the Church / Photo courtesy of The Work of the Church

Rome Newsroom, Jul 28, 2022 / 10:36 am (CNA).

“Glory for God, that alone! The rest does not matter.” These are the words of Mother Trinidad de la Santa Madre Iglesia, who died on this day one year ago in Rome.

She is remembered as the foundress and president of The Work of the Church, an ecclesial institute of pontifical right approved by Saint John Paul II in 1997.

Father Miguel Silvestre Bengoa, a priest of The Work of the Church, told CNA ahead of the July 28 anniversary that Mother Trinidad was “a simple woman from the south of Spain, who consecrated herself completely to God from her youth.”

“In long periods of prayer before the Tabernacle she learned the mysteries of the intimate life of God, in a simple but very profound way,” the priest explained.

“In Madrid, in 1959, God made her a direct witness to all the mysteries of the faith, to help the Church, the pope, and the bishops in their essential mission, and asked her to found ‘The Work of the Church.”

According to Father Bengoa, the mission of this institution is based on “living and making everyone live deeply the mystery of the Church and communicating it through life and word, presenting the holiness, richness, and beauty of her true face before all men.”

For this reason,” the priest explained, “Mother Trinidad felt drawn to Rome, where she lived the last 28 years of her life.”

Mother Trinidad feels deeply moved as she receives the blessing of the Holy Father Saint John Paul II, who wanted to go to her own house and visit her while she was sick in bed on December 15, 1996. Photo courtesy of the Work of the Church
Mother Trinidad feels deeply moved as she receives the blessing of the Holy Father Saint John Paul II, who wanted to go to her own house and visit her while she was sick in bed on December 15, 1996. Photo courtesy of the Work of the Church

Mother Trinidad wanted to suffer and to die near the pope, and as she said, “under the See of Peter,” thus manifesting the offering of her life for the Church until the end, with the sole purpose of helping Her, with all that God had manifested to Mother Trinidad.

Silvestre Bengoa explained that “it should be noted that she was never able to study and did not even finish primary school, due to an accident to her eyes when she was a child.”

“However, as a result of God’s direct communications to her soul from 1959 onwards, she has left for the whole Church a great legacy comprising more than 1,000 audio or video recorded talks and more than 40 volumes of living theology, with a rich literary variety that includes thoughts, prose, and poetry.”

All these volumes are simple but with a very profound language, which introduces us fully to how to live the mysteries of faith.

“It has already been a year since Mother Trinidad departed towards the Father’s House, to fulfill her desire to contemplate the face of her divine Spouse forever,” Silvestre Bengoa said.

For Silvestre Bengoa and all the members of The Work of the Church, it is a day of joy and happiness, although with the sorrow of not having her physically among them, but with the hope that God fulfills his promises. 

“We feel her very close to us here in Rome, in the chapel where she is buried,” he said.

“Now it is time for all the members of The Work of the Church to spread this message with renewed enthusiasm to the People of God and make it known, as we have been doing in recent years, by means of talks, retreats, and missions that we organize in many parts of the world, for children, youth, priests, religious, bishops … this is for everyone,” he added.

The following are some of Mother Trinidad’s outstanding phrases, taken from her writings, which can be found on the website of The Work of the Church:

– “Go and tell it, this is for everyone!” That is, the life of God, of Christ, Mary, and the Church are for all men, and we are all called to live and participate intimately in God’s infinite love.

– “I was born for the Church, and the Church is my song!” Mother Trinidad felt in her whole being to be the “Echo” of the Church, whose purpose is to repeat with fidelity by singing the life, mission and tragedy of Holy Mother Church.

– “Glory for God…! That alone…! The rest does not matter, it does not count, it is non-transcendent …!” A phrase she repeated thousands of times, especially in the last years of her life, to engrave it with fire in our hearts. To live is to give glory to God through the fulfillment of his will, and that is the only thing that matters, here and in Eternity.