Who was Aaron, the leader of the Mita Church?

Teófilo Vargas Seín I was just a kid then Juanita Garcia Peraza, the founder of the Congregation Mita, anointed him as “minister of the kingdom,” and his name was changed to Aaron.

García Peraza, better known as Mita, died in 1970 and Aarón took over leadership of the Christian church that, according to its website, believes in the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and in the teachings of the Bible.

Aarón, who died yesterday at the age of 99, was born on October 23, 1921 in the Aibonito neighborhood of Hatillo. During his early years he attended the Pentecostal Church, but when he met Mita, he changed congregations.

After being anointed, Aaron began his ministry by preaching for the first time in Camuy. “He was dynamic, hardworking and brave. He was not afraid of anything. He grew in knowledge and virtue along with the growth and expansion of the work, ”reads his biography.

As a result of his work, Mita called him to live with her at the headquarters of the Congregation. During that time Aaron managed all of the church’s property and served as the first officer of the Guard Corps, keeping the Mita community on the watch. He was also the first pastor of the Mita Band, the first percussion musician, builder and farmer.

“Mita sowed in him all those qualities that a prophet should possess: integrity, determination of character, willingness to sacrifice, courage to face problems, wisdom and divine discernment, self-control, kindness, goodness, charity and above all, tremendous love. to the souls ”, adds his biography.

Aarón was in charge of the expansion of the Mita Congregation inside and outside Puerto Rico. For example, he brought the teachings of his church to the United States, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Curaçao, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Mexico..

He also founded the Mita Congregation College, the El Paraíso Aegis and Institution, and the Orientation and Social Assistance Office, initiatives that earned him the respect of people of different religious denominations.

Aarón also gained relevance in the country because of a lawsuit against him in which Samuel Beníquez claimed that the leader of the congregation was his father.. Although he denied it, a court-ordered DNA test determined that Aaron was the boy’s biological father.

Beníquez’s birth was the product of a relationship Aarón had with Antonia Beníquez in 1970, the same year that he assumed leadership of the Church. The woman lived in the congregation’s town hall.

Under pressure from his new role, Aarón left his partner and, according to his son, he allegedly forced her to give false testimony in court in 1973 to give the child up for adoption to maternal uncles. The Congregation’s teaching indicates that its leader must remain celibate in order to be a prophet of God.

Despite, Beníquez knew who his biological parents were and he grew up in the Mita Congregation until he was 22 years old when he left the church in search of “the truth”.. Given that he filed a divestiture claim against Aaron in 2004.

After eight years of litigation, the Supreme Court ordered the Court of First Instance in 2012 to proceed with the forced recognition process, so in 2013 Judge Arlene Sellés ordered Aarón to conduct DNA tests confirming Beníquez’s version.