Messi's claim to be the best footballer in the world has taken a knock over the past two years as Ronaldo, his Real Madrid rival, has won back-to-back Ballons d'Or.
Despite Barca underperforming in 2014, the forward elicited praise for captaining Argentina to the World Cup final and has scored an amazing 31 goals in 29 games for the Catalans this season.
"For me the evidence for the existence of God is manifested in goodness and beauty, and when I see Messi play I see that," Sister Lucia Caram, who is from Argentina but has been based in Spain for over two decades, told Sport.
"One looks entranced, like by a beautiful painting or a sunset, when one faces Messi. I'm not saying he's God, but he's a reflection of God's perfection. He dazzles everyone."
She was also critical of Ronaldo's attitude and demeanour in comparison to Messi's, but the nun stopped short of suggesting the Madrid forward has satanic motivations.
"Is Messi an angel and Ronaldo the devil? Well Messi has the virtue of being a great player but he is also a good person," he added. "He is humble.
"Cristiano plays football very well, but he has a very cocky and unfriendly attitude. He's not my greatest enemy, I think he plays very good football, but there is not harmony in him."
The Christianity follower took one final dig at Ronaldo - as well as Barca forward Luis Suarez and referencing Arda Turan's recent infamous boot throw - in her criticism at the idolisation of footballers in modern society.
"I worry that it's a weakness for people to defend their idols against the indefensible," Sister Lucia Caram continued.
"You cannot defend Suarez's bite or applaud the throwing of a shoe at a linesman, and the attitude of Cristiano Ronaldo recently [for his red card last month] was not good."
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