Validity of the diocesan inquiry regarding Sister Antonieta Böhm

Rome (Italy). In the week leading up to the liturgical solemnity of the Founder, Saint John Bosco, news arrives of the recognition of the validity of the diocesan inquiry into the Cause of the Servant of God Antonieta Böhm (Bottrop, Westphalia, Germany, September 22, 1907 – Coacalco, Mexico, April 27, 2008), Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, missionary from 1934 to 1965 in Argentina, from 1965 to 1969 in Peru, and from 1969 to 2008 in Mexico.

On 28 April 2024 at Cuautitlán, in Mexico, the closing of the diocesan inquiry was celebrated, and subsequently, the official documents of the process were delivered to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome. The documents were studied by the competent office. The Dicastery verified that the procedures prescribed by law had been carried out correctly and completely during the diocesan Phase.

It was opened on 7 May 2017, in the cathedral of Cuautitlán, the Mexican diocese where Saint Juan Diego, the visionary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, was born. The investigation required patient and lengthy work to collect and analyze documents relating to the life and reputation of holiness of the Servant of God.

The Vice Postulator, Sister Guadalupe Chávez (MME), reconstructed the childhood, adolescence, but above all, the formation, the spiritual journey, and the mission of Sister Antonieta through letters, chronicles, and documents of various kinds. She gathered numerous and valuable testimonies, including those of many lay people who knew the Servant of God and who continue to turn to her to ask for her intercession.

Mother Antonieta conveyed peace in every encounter, comforting people in the difficulties they were facing. Appreciated for her virtues, particularly charity, she was capable of exquisite kindness towards everyone, especially the poor and those who confided their needs to her.

Witnesses recall and acknowledge the spiritual strength that sustained her every day, even during her illness, and her profound humility, as she never attributed any merit to herself for the graces obtained through her prayers. They also emphasize her unwavering faith, which was contagious and helped others grow in their spiritual journey.

Text of the Document

At the Ordinary Congress held on 17 December of this year 2025, this Dicastery for the Causes of Saints discussed the following question: “Whether it has been established that the Principal and Supplementary Diocesan Inquiries conducted by the ecclesiastical tribunal of Cuautitlán concerning the life and virtues, as well as the reputation for holiness and virtue, of the Servant of God Antonilla Bohm Schwanewilm, a professed Sister of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, were valid; whether the witnesses were duly and correctly examined and the evidence produced was legitimately requested in the case and for the purpose in question.”

This Dicastery, after carefully deliberating ex officio and thoroughly considering the matter, has responded: AFFIRMATIVELY, that is, that the aforementioned Principal and Supplementary Diocesan Inquisitions are deemed valid in the case and for the effect in question, having been validated by law. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary.

Given in Rome, from the seat of the same Dicastery, on 17 December 2025.

This is another important step on the still long journey towards the recognition of Mother Antonieta’s sanctity, supported by the prayers and faith of all those who had contact with her and her story, of the entire Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), and the Salesian Family.