Maria Antonia Paris (June 28, 1813 – January 17, 1885) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

nun who founded in 1855 the

Claretian Sisters The Claretian Sisters were founded in 1855 by María Antonia París (1813 - 1885) and Anthony Mary Claret Anthony Mary Claret, CMF ( ca, Antoni Maria Claret i Clarà; es, link=no, Antonio María Claret y Clarà; December 23, 1807 – October 24 ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. She was born in the town of

Vallmoll Vallmoll is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Camp, Tarragona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Sta ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. Her father, a farmer, died before she was born and her mother had fled to escape the invading French army led by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. She joined the Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady in 1841 as a postulant, but because of a ban on entering religious orders by the government of Spain, she did not become a novice until April 1850. While she was praying for the Catholic Church, she reported hearing a call from God to create a new religious order. In 1850 she met the priest

Anthony Mary Claret Anthony Mary Claret, CMF ( ca, Antoni Maria Claret i Clarà; es, link=no, Antonio María Claret y Clarà; December 23, 1807 – October 24, 1870) was a Spanish Catholic archbishop and missionary, and was confessor of Isabella II of Spain. He fo ...

who had recently founded the Congregation of Missionaries, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Claret agreed to help her with this task but in October of that year was named Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba After some months of discernment, Paris, on the advice of her spiritual director, Dr. Caixal, and P. Gatell, she decided to leave the Company of Mary. She and another novice lived the religious life in Tarragona; they were soon joined by three other young women."Foundress: María Antonia París"
/ref> Archbishop Claret agreed with her to come to Cuba to found with her new order. In 1855 she founded the Claretian Sisters; it was the first religious order founded in Cuba. She died in Reus, Spain, at the age of 71. In 1993, she was declared

venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. The Claretian Missionaries can now be found in 27 countries. http://www.claretianasrmi.org

References

1813 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Spanish nuns Founders of Catholic religious communities 19th-century venerated Christians Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II {{Cuba-reli-bio-stub