María Josefa Sancho de Guerra (7 September 1842 – 20 March 1912) was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun who established her own congregation known as the Servants of Jesus of Charity. She wanted her new congregation to focus on the care of the sick and the poor. She assumed the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

of "María Josefa of the Heart of Jesus".

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

beatified her on 27 September 1992 and canonized her on 1 October 2000.

Life

María Josefa Sancho de Guerra was born on 7 September 1842 in

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as the eldest daughter of Bernabe Sancho and Petra de Guerra. She was baptized the following day. She received the sacrament of

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

on 10 August 1844. At the age of seven, her father died and her mother took charge of her spiritual development. Her mother also sent her to her relatives in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

for further education. At the age of 18, she returned to

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to announce to her mother her desire to join a monastery, responding to her vocation, repeatedly telling her: "I was born with a religious vocation". She joined the Institute of the Servants of Mary at the age of 18 but by the time she approached her time for profession, she was aware of uncertainties about her vocation. Telling various confessors, each told her that she had misinterpreted her vocation. After a brief period, she decided to leave the order to establish her own congregation. She established a new congregation known as the Servants of Jesus of Charity in 1871 with a focus on the care of children, the sick, the elderly and the poor. She was its first Mother Superior. At that point, she selected as her new name "María Josefa of the Heart of Jesus". She died on 20 March 1912. Her remains were transferred in 1926 from the local cemetery to the motherhouse of the institute. Her institute expanded after her death with over 100 houses in many different countries such as

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, the

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and the

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Canonization

The sainthood process commenced in

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with the opening of a local process in 1951 which finished in 1954. The formal introduction of the cause came on 7 January 1972 which granted her the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. The

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

– documentation on her life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

– was submitted to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

in 1984.

approved the findings and conferred upon her the title of

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 7 September 1989. The miracle required for her beatification was investigated and ratified on 8 June 1990 leading to papal approval on 13 June 1992. She was beatified on 27 September 1992. The second miracle that was needed for her canonization was also investigated after her beatification and was ratified on 13 October 1995. John Paul II approved it on 28 June 1999 and canonized her on 1 October 2000.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNServants of Jesus of Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancho de Guerra, Maria Josefa 1842 births 1912 deaths Founders of Catholic religious communities 19th-century venerated Christians 20th-century venerated Christians Spanish Roman Catholic saints Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II