Dear John:

There is much confusion concerning the writings of Luisa Piccarreta. This confusion is largely sourced in that she wrote in an Italian dialect (not standard Italian) and was not a learned person or theologian. Thus there are some real translation problems. Plus, commentaries and interpretations of her work have been very shoddy, made oftentimes by people who lack the proper theological competence.

Because of that, one needs to be really careful in reading her works. Given the issues and problems of translation and nuanced theological issues we need to wait for the Holy See to make its evaluation. We need to avoid rash judgment.

For example, to say that her writings are heretical is not proper. Neither you or I are competent to make that determination. What may seem to be heretical is most likely a bad translation of her works, or a misinterpretation of her ideas (which are not technically theological).

We need to let the Holy See do its job in evaluating the works. Frankly, given the controversies and translation and interpretative problems, I personally think it best to set aside her writings for now and wait for the Church to evaluate and explain.

As for her cause to sainthood, she is not a saint yet. That is under investigation and it may work out that she will not be declared a saint. That is for the Holy See to decide. But we need to remember that not everything a saint writes is correct just because they are a saint. We tend to think that, but it is not the case.

We also must remember that Luisa lived in a different time and place that used language conventions rather foreign to us today. We see a similar problem with St. Louis de Montfort's classic work, True Devotion to Mary. Some of the phraseology used by St. Montfort could imply an improper worship of Mary. We know that is not what the Saint is saying, but it can appear that way to the modern ear. I think some of the misinterpretation of Luisa comes from something similar.

Anyway, there is an excellent article that details this whole issue, the status of Luisa, the status of her writings, etc. at EWTN. Click here to read that article. It should answer your questions about her.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary