Madrid, Spain, Aug 19, 2018 / 12:00 pm
A young woman whose cause for sainthood is being considered by the Church demonstrated by her life that "you can be holy living your daily life," according to one of her closest friends.
Alexia González-Barros was recently declared "venerable" by Pope Francis, a step in the Church process that could lead to canonization. González-Barros died in 1985 at the age of 14, after a ten-month battle with cancer.
Begoña Hernandez, Alexia's classmate and one of her best friends, recalled that the youth lived out her illness "with joy" and trust in God. Hernandez said that she had the "conviction that [González-Barros] was a saint" from the moment that she died in 1985.
Alexia González-Barros was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1971 and was the youngest of seven siblings, two of whom died before they were born. Her parents, Francisco and Moncha, were supernumeraries in Opus Dei.