BIOGRAPHY OF MOTHER ADELA GALINDO, FOUNDRESS SCTJM

Mother Adela Galindo was born in Leon, Nicaragua. Her childhood was marked by a profound Marian spirituality which paved the way for the Holy Spirit to give birth in her and through her to a new charism: a Marian school of holiness for many vocations, all for the good of the Church.  Mother Adela considers the gift of the Blessed Mother's maternity in her life to be the most beautiful gift the Lord has given her from her childhood until the present.  Mother expresses the depth of her filial relationship with the Blessed Mother with these words:  "My path is Marian; everything in my life has been a gift of Our Lady's Heart. My greatest desire is to always be the smallest daughter of Our Lady and to live and to die in the School of Mary's Heart".


During her youth, Mother Adela became actively involved in the Charismatic Renewal, becoming the leader of the Youth of the Renewal in Leon, Nicaragua at the early age of 13. During this time, Mother Adela was able to experience the powerful effects of the union of the Marian and Charismatic spiritualities, which led her to a deep love for the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and to consolidate in her heart what she defines as the four pillars upon which her life is based: profoundly Marian, Eucharistic centered, actively receiving and communicating the gifts of the Holy Spirit and in loving communion with the Heart of the Church and at her service. At 13 as a youth leader, Mother first began giving talks throughout Nicaragua.

Mother experienced a profound spiritual communion with the heart of St. John Paul II since the moment he was elected to the Chair of Peter.  From that moment on, she was called to teach the Magisterium of John Paul II and later on, after his passing, it would become very clear that she was to continue to keep his legacy alive in the Heart of the Church.

In her youth, when she came to the United States because of the political situation in Nicaragua, she held different jobs while studying. Once she could afford to go to a university, she studied and graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor’s in Clinical Social Work and later obtained a Master’s degree in Theology, graduating Summa Cum Laude in both degrees.

In 1984, in response to her constant relationship with Mary, and in the context of a mission trip that she led with the youth of her parish, Mother renewed her total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Mother, the fruit of this consecration was a deeper communion of hearts with Our Lady and the beginning of a deeper calling of total self-donation manifested through the image of the Pelican. One year later, as a fruit of her Marian consecration, she felt the call to give her entire life to the Lord, which she did, recognizing that this “fiat” was necessary to prepare her to embrace the designs of love that the Hearts of Jesus and Mary had for her. Unbeknownst to her then, some young women began to follow her and this small seed would be the beginning of what it would become a new religious family at the service of the Church of the Third Millennium.

In 1990, in the Archdiocese of Miami, Mother founded the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, receiving the first canonical approval as Public Association of the Faithful.  In the year 2000 the Community was erected as a Diocesan Religious Institute, with a unique fourth vow of “Total Marian Identification and Availability.”  It is the first religious institute to have been founded by a Hispanic foundress in the United States. This religious institute is fully bilingual and multicultural and has been actively serving the local and universal Church since its beginning, responding to St. John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization, making this call a fundamental aspect of their mission. The spiritual charism of the Institute is to be a living image and presence of the Heart, Person and Mission of Mary in the Heart of the Church and in the heart of the world, and to place their Marian charism and all the potentialities of their feminine genius in full communion and at the service of the Apostolic-Petrine Principle.

What began in the poverty and littleness of an efficiency room, has grown and extended throughout various parts of the world. Today, the Institute of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary counts with thirteen convents, twelve of them are located in different parts of the United States, and one in Rome, serving the Archdiocese of the Italian Military. The Sisters, following the teachings communicated by Mother Adela, make of their lives a total and sincere gift, an offering of love and consolation to the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary by choosing in all things the splendor, the logic and fecundity of love to give way to its triumph.

With great apostolic ardor and desire to enflame the world with the love of the Pierced Hearts and to build a new civilization of love, life, truth and solidarity, Mother Adela has dedicated her life to the arduous task of forming the hearts (by preaching and numerous writings) of religious, priests, brothers, men, women, young adults, youth and children to be coherent witnesses of the power and the fecundity of love and to be ardent witnesses to the Splendor and fecundity of the Magisterium and Treasures of the Church.  Since her youth, Mother Adela has traveled all over the world to over 30 countries to speak about a wide range of topics and preaching in Eucharistic, Marian, Charismatic conferences, also doing presentations in Theological Symposiums.  Mother has also recorded over 300 radio programs which are transmitted weekly for the formation of the people of God reaching many states and Spanish speaking countries. Every year, Mother Adela leads various pilgrimages to Marian and Eucharistic Shrines, including pilgrimages to the World Youth days and for ecclesial events in different parts of the world.  She also leads a yearly pilgrimage to the Holy Land, guiding and giving constant formation to the pilgrims. In 2016, Mother Adela was invested as a Dame of the Holy Sepulcher in recognition of her great love and zeal for teaching and inspiring in others the ardor and responsibility to care for the Holy Sites and for providing spiritual and material support for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters of the Church in the Holy Land and the Middle East.  Mother is always creating ways of expressing in concrete ways the culture of solidarity in areas of great need in any part of the world.  She has a deep missionary soul and the list of her works of love and mercy to the needy are countless. She always engages many people and youth in this mission as to develop a sense of authentic fraternity and responsibility for all our brothers and sisters in unprivileged situations.

Mother Adela is uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit to transmit, with a profound Marian vision, the teachings and legacy of St. John Paul II. Mother has been entrusted by the Church with the mission of taking the first-class pilgrim relic of the blood of St. John Paul II throughout the North, Central and South American Continent.

Mother has also spoken at retreats for seminarians and priests in many Dioceses in USA and other countries, responding to the mission the Lord entrusted to her to form priestly hearts to be image and presence of the Priestly Heart of Christ. She has also led many retreats for religious, married couples, young adults, youth, vocational discernment groups as well as for various ecclesial movements. Mother constantly and untiringly communicates, through the many talks and teachings she imparts, the splendor and luminosity of the Magisterium and the treasures of the Church, seeking to form the modern man to build a new civilization worthy to be a home of the human heart.

In 2000, Mother Adela founded the lay branch “Apostles of the Pierced Hearts”, the “Young and little Apostles” of the Family of the Pierced Hearts which has expanded to many parts of the world. These lay faithful live the spiritual charism and apostolic mission of the Sisters within their own vocation and state of life. In 2006, the Missionaries of Love branch was founded to serve the sick in the Shrine of Lourdes and also, with evangelization missions in poor places. A few years later the “University Apostles” were born. In the year 2018, the male consecrated branch began. Today, there are over 800 members in the spiritual family who attend the monthly formation given by Mother, and millions who are formed by Mother through our social media ministries.
In 2018, Holy Apostles College and Seminary honored Mother Adela with an Honoris Causa Doctorate of Humane Lettersfor her lifelong dedication to the proclamation and the defense of the beauty, goodness and the splendor of the truth of the Gospel, the teachings of the Church and the dignity of the human person; for her faithful witness of total and unconditional love and service to the Lord, our Blessed Mother and the Church; for her self-oblation for the good of humanity and the salvation of souls through the power and fecundity of love and truth and at the service of the new evangelization. Mother Adela is also an active member of the International Marian Association. In the Fall of 2018, one of Mother’s great joys was the realization of a dream: a permanent home and school of formation – the Veritatis Splendor Institute in the St. John Paul II Evangelization Center, which provides many courses of formation on a wide range of Catholic topics.  This Institute is affiliated with St. John Vianney College Seminary and Graduate School of Philosophy.  In 2019, Mother received the Award of St. Vincent of Paul, granted by the Major Seminary of Florida, for her love and zeal for our Catholic Faith, active solidarity for the poor and total dedication to form holy and mature vocations.

In 2019, Mother Adela founded the male branch of SCTJM Religious Brothers and Priests, opening Sacred Heart Convent.  The desire of Our Lord and Our Lady for this foundation, began with a Priest and a Brother, a beautiful detail confirming the particular character of the religious male branch.

In 2022, St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida, honored Mother Adela with a Doctorate Honoris Causa in Philosophy, Theology, and Leadership for her “witness to the joy of the Gospel, self-giving for the good of humanity, and courageous example of ethical leadership for our global community.”

Two statements have marked Mother’s life and path: “All for the Heart of Jesus, through the Heart of Mary” and the existential reality of her entire life: “It is our mission to reveal the potency, splendor, and fecundity of love – May Love Always Triumph!”''

If we had to sum up Mother Adela's motto of life, it would be: "choosing in all things, like Our Lady, what is true, good, beautiful and fruitful to open the path for the triumph of love, the triumph of the Pierced Hearts, the new civilization of love!"

We invite you to follow Mother Adela, Foundress SCTJM