Francisca de Paula de Jesus (

São João del-Rei São João del-Rei is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1713 in homage to king John V of Portugal, the city is famed for its historic Portuguese colonial architecture. The current population is estimated at 90,225 i ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, 1810 –

Baependi Baependi is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Geography The population of Baependi as of 2020 was estimated to be 19,199 people living at an altitude of 893 meters. The area of the municipality is 751.748 km2. The city ...

, Minas Gerais, 14 June 1895), also known as Nhá Chica ("Aunt Francie" in Portuguese), was a formerly enslaved

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

laywoman known for her humble life and her dedication to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. Nhá Chica bore no surname and was an

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

born to an enslaved mother; she herself was enslaved until being freed in 1820 which allowed her to dedicate herself to the plight of the region's poor and the construction of a Marian chapel near which she resided for the remainder of her life. Her beatification was celebrated in Brazil in mid-2013 and made her the first

woman to be

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Life

Francisca de Paula de Jesus was born

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

in Santo Antônio do Rio das Mortes Pequeno, a neighborhood in

, in 1810 to the enslaved Brazilian woman Izabel Maria. It was there that Francisca, also enslaved, was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

on 26 April 1810; this means her birth took place in the first quarter of 1810. Her mother decided to relocate after being freed in 1820, so the family moved to

, where she lived until her death. Her maternal grandparents were also enslaved. Her half-brother, Theotonio Pereira do Armaral, came from another union. In 1820 she had dedicated her life to her faith and decided to help the poor at her mother's request, as she was on her deathbed at that time; her mother's freedom was for only a few months before she died. The girl now chose to live alone rather than with her half-brother, and refused all marriage proposals put forward to her. Her brother died in 1862 and she was designated as his sole heir; she used her newfound inheritance to increase her social work and begin construction of a Marian chapel. Donations were used as a means for her to build the "Our Lady of Conception Sanctuary". Despite being illiterate and impoverished, she welcomed the poor into her new place and became known as the "Mother of the Poor". She lived in a humble two-room hovel and constructed a small altar adorned with roses, and she was well known for giving acts of comfort and spiritual healing to those that visited her. On 8 July 1888 she drafted up a will in which she decided to leave all her possessions to her local parish and set out how she wanted the parish to distribute her possessions among the poor. She also set out how she wanted her funeral as well as the number of Masses celebrated for her soul. Nhá Chica died on 14 June 1895 in her chapel, where she was buried on the following 18 June. It was reported that there was an unusual smell of perfume when she was buried and when her coffin was opened on 18 June 1998.

Beatification

The beatification process commenced on 17 January 1992 under

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 ...

after 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 ...

issued the official "

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

" to the cause and titled her as a

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 diocesan process was held in Campanha from 10 October 1993 until 31 May 1995 while a supplementary process was held throughout 1998. The C.C.S. later validated these two previous processes in

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on 12 March 1999 and received 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 ...

from the postulation in 2000. Historians first assessed and approved the cause on 30 October 2001 as did the theologians on 8 June 2010 and the C.C.S. on 11 January 2011. The confirmation of 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 ...

on 14 January 2011 allowed for

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

to name her as

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 ...

. The process for the miracle required for her beatification took place in 1998 and received validation from the C.C.S. on 8 October 1999 before a team of medical experts approved it around a decade later on 13 October 2011; theologians also assented to this on 18 February 2012 as did the C.C.S. on 5 June 2012. Benedict XVI approved this miracle on 28 June 2012 and thus confirmed the beatification would take place. Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

presided over the beatification in Brazil on 4 May 2013 on the behalf of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

. The miracle that secured her beatification was the 1995 cure of the Brazilian woman Ana Lucia Meirelles who had been healed from

pulmonary hypertension Pulmonary hypertension (PH or PHTN) is a condition of increased blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, arteries of the lungs. Symptoms include dypsnea, shortness of breath, Syncope (medicine), fainting, tiredness, chest pain, pedal edema, swell ...

. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

for this cause is Dr. Paolo Vilotta.

References

External links

Official website

Family Search
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nhá Chica 1808 births 1895 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Brazilian people 19th-century Brazilian women Beatifications by Pope Francis Brazilian beatified people People from São João del-Rei Venerated Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI Afro-Brazilian people Roman Catholic mystics