Life of Brazilian woman who lived over half a century solely on the Eucharist hits the big screen
The life of Floripes Dornellas de Jesús, known as Lola, the Brazilian servant of God who lived for over half a century without eating, drinking, or sleeping, subsisting solely on the Eucharist, is the subject of the Portuguese-language documentary “Lola of Jesus: Mystery and Devotion” by journalist and writer Rodrigo Alvarez.
The production was screened last month during the third edition of Cinema ExpoCatólica at the ExpoCatólica 2026 event in São Paulo, where Alvarez also gave a talk titled “Lola and the Phenomenon of Genuine Brazilian Faith.”
Who is Lola?
Her inexplicable ability to live only on the Eucharist certainly draws attention to her, but for Dr. Claudio Bomtempo, who was her attending physician during the final five years of her life and is now a leading advocate for her cause of beatification, that was never the most important aspect of her person. According to Bomtempo, Lola’s mission was to make the Sacred Heart of Jesus better known and loved.
“Lola did not want to be remembered herself; rather, she wanted the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be better known and loved,” Bomtempo told ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News.
The Church dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as the first Friday of every month. According to Bomtempo, Lola “knew she was the one who could get people in Brazil to reflect on the power of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
“All that matter of not eating, drinking, or sleeping does not, in reality, constitute the essence of Lola’s holiness; rather, it is a sign — a way of drawing attention — that I believe the heart of Jesus allowed, so that she could simply be recognized as a manifestation of the presence of the heart of Jesus,” he said.
For him, “her holiness is due to her virtues and her sacrifice, to the martyrdom of all those years … and to her intimacy with the heart of Jesus, which was truly awe-inspiring.”
According to the doctor, Lola would often interrupt conversations to pray and ask Jesus, “What do you want from me, Lord? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say?”
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
Lola was born on June 27, 1912, in Mercês, Brazil, and as a child moved with her family to Rio Pomba, where she died in 1999.
When she was about 16 years old, she fell from a jabuticaba tree, fractured two lumbar vertebrae, and was left a paraplegic.
“Finding herself in that situation — knowing she would never walk again and would not realize the dreams she might have cherished, such as becoming a mother or a religious, Lola decided to dedicate the rest of her life to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the heart of Mary. This was Lola’s initial response to a difficult situation, to terrible news,” Bomtempo related.
Following this decision, changes began to occur in her body that would mark the rest of her life. According to the doctor, she ceased to feel hunger, thirst, or the need for sleep.
“Over the next five or six years, they insisted that she eat, but she felt no hunger,” the doctor explained. On Good Friday in 1943, “she decided she would eat no more. From that moment on, she received only the holy Eucharist each day.”
The phenomenon, known as inedia, total abstinence from food, sparked the interest of doctors, researchers, the curious, and pilgrims. According to Bomtempo, this never diverted Lola from what she considered her true mission: leading people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“People began coming in large caravans and receiving graces, always through the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he said.
To him, Lola was “simply a secretary of the heart of Jesus.”
“She only pointed to Jesus. She also possessed many gifts of the Holy Spirit — gifts of revelation, prophecy, and knowledge — and she always used them for the good of others,” he continued.
Allowed to keep the Blessed Sacrament in her room
Since she did not sleep, Lola received permission from the then-bishop of Mariana, Oscar de Oliveira, to keep the Blessed Sacrament in her room.
“Lola remained confined to her bed for those 64 years. She kept a 24-hour vigil before the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Eucharist,” Bomtempo recounted.
He recalled asking her once why she never left the room, not even to go out into the courtyard.
“My place is here, before the Blessed Sacrament, before the heart of Jesus,” Lola replied.
A devotion that endures
In the Church, the first Friday of each month is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that spread widely, particularly following the revelations received by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century.
Recommended practices include confession, Communion, and making reparation for sins committed against the love of Christ.
According to Bomtempo, it was this devotion that Lola sought to spread throughout her life.
The cause for her beatification was opened in 2005 by the then-archbishop of Mariana, Luciano Mendes de Almeida, who had known Lola personally.
According to Bomtempo, the archbishop once told him: “Lola possesses more virtues than are necessary for sainthood. That will happen at the right moment.”
The cause stalled for years due to bureaucratic issues and was resumed just last year, when the current archbishop, Airton José dos Santos, appointed Father Rodney Francisco Reis da Silva as the postulator for the diocesan phase.
Once that phase is concluded, the cause will be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where it can advance toward the recognition of heroic virtues, the stage at which the person could be declared venerable. Subsequently, the recognition of a miracle is required for beatification and a second miracle for canonization.
For Bomtempo, Lola’s entire life pointed toward this devotion. “What she spoke of most was trust in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
Pilgrimage site
Today, Recanto Sítio da Lola (Lola’s Retreat Place) in Rio Pomba is under the care of Father Jamilson Inácio da Silva, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, who administers the site at the request of the archdiocese.
The site has become a place of pilgrimage, welcoming the faithful from across Brazil on the first Friday and third Sunday of every month for Masses and times of prayer.
The room where Lola lived for over 60 years remains preserved and can be viewed through a glass partition.
In May, the site was reopened for a special occasion — the celebration of the first Mass since the death of the servant of God in 1999 — celebrated by the archbishop emeritus of Juiz de Fora, Gil Antônio Moreira, and concelebrated by Father Rodney Francisco Reis da Silva, the postulator for the cause of beatification.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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