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 remembered as the smallest daughter of Our Lady and to live and to die in the School of our Blessed Mother’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, she was able to experience the powerful effects of the union of a Marian spirituality and total openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, 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 and service of the Church. This reality prompted her to begin her teaching mission.

Mother experienced a profound spiritual communion with St. John Paul II's heart since he was elected to the Chair of Peter.  From that moment on, she was called to teach, with a profound Marian vision, the Magisterium of John Paul II, and later, after his passing, it became clear that the Holy Spirit had uniquely gifted her to continue keeping his legacy alive in the Heart of the Church.

When she came to the United States due to the political situation in Nicaragua, she held various jobs to support her desire to attend a university. Once she could afford it, 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 she led with the youth of her parish, Mother renewed her total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Mother. This consecration led her into a profound communion of hearts with Our Lady and the beginning of a deeper calling of total self-donation. 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 at the time, some young women expressed their desire to follow her, and this small seed would be the beginning of what it would become a new Institute of religious sisters at the service of the Church of the Third Millennium.

In 1990, upon receiving the first canonical approval as Public Association of the Faithful in view of becoming a religious Institute, Mother Adela founded the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the Archdiocese of Miami.  In 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 founded by a Hispanic foundress in the United States. This religious institute is fully bilingual and multicultural, having been actively serving the local and universal Church since its inception, in response to St. John Paul II’s call for the New Evangelization, which is a fundamental aspect of its mission. The spiritual charism of the Institute is to be a living image and presence of the Heart, Person, and Mission of Our Lady 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 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 has 19 convents, 15 of which are located in different parts of the United States, three in Europe (one in Rome, serving the Archdiocese of the Italian Military, another in the Diocese of Gliwice, Poland, and the most recent, in Santander, Spain), and one in South America. 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, families, 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. She has always believed in the capacity of youth and young adults to be protagonists in building up the Church and the world. To form present and future generations of adolescents and young adults who will realize the Lord’s designs, she created the Vivet movement to build a Catholic culture for youth and empower them to build the civilization of love wherever they go.

From her youth, Mother Adela has traveled extensively to over 30 countries to speak about a wide range of topics and preach in Eucharistic, Marian, and Charismatic conferences, as well as present at theological symposia. She has organized international congresses and has been invited to speak at national and international congresses, such as the National Eucharistic Congress as part of the Eucharistic Revival in the United States, as well as a national congress honoring St. John Paul II at Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. Mother has also recorded over 2,000 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 the persecuted Christians of the Church in the Holy Land and the Middle East.  Mother is always finding ways to concretely express the culture of solidarity in areas of great need throughout the world.  She has a deep missionary zeal, and the list of her works of love and mercy to the needy is countless. She always constantly engages many people and youth in this mission to foster a sense of authentic fraternity and responsibility for all individuals in unprivileged situations.

Mother has also spoken at retreats for seminarians and priests in many dioceses in the United States and other countries, responding to the mission the Lord entrusted to her to form priestly hearts to be the image and presence of the Priestly Heart of Christ. She has also led numerous retreats for religious, married couples, young adults, youth, vocational discernment groups, and 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 modern men and women to build a new civilization worthy of being a home for the human heart.

In 1999, 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, France, and also with evangelization missions in poor places. A few years later, the University Apostles were born. In the year 2020, SCTJM Religious Brothers and Priests, the male branch of religious priests and brothers was established. Today, there are over 1,000 members in the spiritual family who attend the monthly formation given by Mother, and millions who Mother forms through hers and the community’s social media ministry who have become the universal movement.

Mother Adela has been honored with three Doctorates Honoris Causa. In 2018, Holy Apostles College and Seminary granted her an Honoris Causa Doctorate of Humane Letters for 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, the 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. 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.” In 2024, the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, conferred a Doctorate Honoris Causae of Humane Letters on Mother Adela, not only because she is gifted with the love of God and service to his people but also because she demonstrates faith in action through her founding of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. This degree honors her as an evangelizer and one who shares the power of God’s love with the world and exemplifies the University of Saint Thomas values --- goodness, discipline, knowledge, and community.

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.  In 2019, Mother received the St. Vincent de Paul Award, 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.

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 Mother Adela's motto of life could be summarized, 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!"

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