Tomorrow I will have my second cataract surgery, so was thrilled to find this saint to intercede for me. The first surgery, while a success, has not been a piece of cake- so I need all the help I can get- for courage!
BL. MARIA DOLORES RODRIGUEZ SOPENA, born in 1848 in Velez Rubio, Almería, Spain, was the fourth of seven children. Eye surgery at age eight left her with limited sight the rest of her life. A debutante at age 17, Maria did not care for the wordly life, and fearing that her parents would stop her, she secretly began working with the sick and poor. This was a time when a woman of her standing in society would never be found in the neighborhoods of the poor. But Maria’s faith gave her endless confidence, and she was motivated by a desire to have “one family in Christ Jesus”.
BL. MARIA DOLORES RODRIGUEZ SOPENA, born in 1848 in Velez Rubio, Almería, Spain, was the fourth of seven children. Eye surgery at age eight left her with limited sight the rest of her life. A debutante at age 17, Maria did not care for the wordly life, and fearing that her parents would stop her, she secretly began working with the sick and poor. This was a time when a woman of her standing in society would never be found in the neighborhoods of the poor. But Maria’s faith gave her endless confidence, and she was motivated by a desire to have “one family in Christ Jesus”.
In 1868 when
she was 20, Maria’s father was
transferred to Puerto Rico where
he eventually became a state
attorney; the rest of the family moved to Madrid, Spain.
There Maria found a spiritual adviser and began catechizing women in prisons, hospitals and
Sunday schools. The entire family moved to Puerto Rico in 1872 during
a time of schism and
religious disruption. There she was able
to find a Jesuit priest to
be her spiritual director. Maria’s poor sight ended
an attempt to join the Sisters of Charity, and when she tried to work on
her own, the religious upheaval limited her to visiting only the sick in
the safety of a military hospital.
When the
situation settled she founded the Centers of Instruction and the Association
of the Sodality of the Virgin Mary who staffed the Centers. The taught reading,
writing and religion, and provided medical help where needed.
Maria’s mother died,
her father retired,
and the family returned to Madrid in 1877.
Maria became the matriarch of the family, found a new spiritual adviser, and
resumed her work with the poor and sick.
Following the death of
her father in 1883,
she joined a Salesian convent.
That lasted ten days; she realized that the cloistered,
contemplative life was not for her.
In 1885 Maria
opened a center where the poor could
bring social problems to be resolved, and which was similar to a modern
half-way house, helping prisoners return
to society. The terrible conditions of the poor that
she witnessed led to the formation of Works of the Doctrines. Due to anti–clerical attitudes
in the 20th century,
these became known as the Center for the Workers. In 1892 she
founded the Association of the Apostolic Laymen (Sopeña Lay Movement),
and in 1893 she
received government approval to expand her work into eight poor and
crowded Madrid neighborhoods.
She made
a pilgrimage to Rome in 1900,
and received approval to form a religious institute to continue the work of
the Works and Association. With eight companions and co-workers,
she founded the Ladies of Catechistical Institute on 24 September 1901 in Toledo, Spain.
She founded the Social and Cultural Work Sopeña which
received government approval in 1902, papal approval
in 1907,
and is today known as the Sopeña Catechetical Institute.
Maria was chosen Superior General of community
in 1910,
and they expanded into the Americas
Bl. Maria died
in Madrid
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