The Almerian locality of Huércal-Overa experienced a historic day with the beatification of the venerable Salvador Valera Parra, popularly known as Cura Valera. The event, which transcended the local sphere, brought together faithful from various dioceses and highlighted a priestly figure marked by pastoral dedication, concrete charity, and fidelity to his ministry.
The events had begun on Friday with a prayer vigil in the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption, as spiritual preparation for the solemn celebration.
A priest between two dioceses
The figure of Cura Valera was confirmed as a spiritual bond between Almería and Murcia, territories where he developed a decisive part of his ministry. During the celebration, his role as a symbol of communion between both dioceses was emphasized, especially due to his time in Cartagena and his pastoral work with the most needy.
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This interdiocesan dimension was also 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 was 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 was 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 presided over the celebration.
A deployment commensurate with the magnitude of the event
The beatification was 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 was Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, who presided over the Mass.
He was accompanied by the Bishop of Almería and the Bishop of Cartagena, as well as the Archbishop of Granada. During the celebration, the prelates thanked the Pope that the first miracle recognized during his pontificate had been the one that led to this beatification.
The liturgical service featured 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 took place 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 underwent 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, paving the way for the beatification that was celebrated as planned.