The Almerian locality of Huércal-Overa will experience a historic day with the beatification of the venerable Salvador Valera Parra, popularly known as the Cura Valera. The event, which transcends the local scope, brings together faithful from various dioceses and highlights a priestly figure marked by pastoral dedication, concrete charity, and fidelity to his ministry.
According to Almería Hoy, the events began this Friday with a prayer vigil in the parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, presided over by the Bishop of Cartagena, Monsignor José Manuel Lorca Planes, as spiritual preparation for today’s solemn celebration.
A priest between two dioceses
The figure of Cura Valera presents itself as a spiritual link between Almería and Murcia, territories where he developed a decisive part of his ministry. The bishops have emphasized his role as a symbol of communion between both dioceses, especially due to his time in Cartagena and his pastoral work with the most needy.
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This interdiocesan dimension will also be reflected in the beatification liturgy itself, both in the symbols present in the presbytery and in the participation of clergy and seminarians from various local Churches.
The presbytery: Crucified Christ and Marian devotion
The ceremony will be presided over by two images. On one hand, the Most Holy Christ of Agony, a carving from the 17th-18th centuries from the Basilica of Charity in Cartagena, before which Cura Valera strengthened his pastoral dedication during his time as parish priest of Santa María de Gracia.
Next to the crucified one will be placed the Virgin of the River, patroness of Huércal-Overa, whose devotion was decisively promoted by the priest himself. Although the original image disappeared in the 1973 flood, the worship remained alive until the arrival of the current carving, which today will preside over the celebration.
A deployment commensurate with the magnitude of the event
The beatification is celebrated in the Huércal-Overa Multi-Purpose Space, with capacity for more than 3,200 people, plus an adjacent pavilion set up for another 2,500 attendees. The representative of Pope Leo XIV will be Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The liturgical service will include the participation of 120 seminarians from various dioceses, underscoring the ecclesial and vocational character of the event.
The miracle recognized by the Church
The beatification is carried out after the recognition of a miracle that occurred in 2007 in Rhode Island (United States). The newborn Tyquan Hall, in critical condition after birth, began to recover inexplicably after the doctor attending him, a native of Huércal-Overa, invoked the intercession of Cura Valera.
The case was subjected to a prolonged and exhaustive canonical process, initiated in 2014, which included the favorable opinion of the Medical Board and the corresponding theological study. Finally, Pope Leo XIV approved the miracle, opening the way to the beatification that is celebrated today.