Venerable Benigna Victima de Jesus

Maria da Conceição Santos, CIANSP (religious name: Benigna Victim of Jesus; 16 August 1907 — 16 October 1981), better known as Sister Benigna, was an Afro-Brazilian mother superior of the Congregation of Auxiliaries of Our Lady of Piety. On October 15, 2011, the process of her beatification cause was opened by the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte. On February 18, 2022, Pope Francis declared her venerable. Santos was born on August 16, 1907, in the mining town of Diamantina, and registered as Maria da Conceição Santos. She received a Catholic religious education from her parents as a child. Even as a little girl, she revealed divine gifts and manifested a vocation for religious life. She participated in celebrations of Holy Mass, coronations, processions and prayers of the rosary. In her homeland, Maria went to primary school and learned to play various musical instruments. As a catechist and guitar teacher, she evangelized children and adults. On February 11, 1935, a day dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, Maria joined the Congregation of the Auxiliary Sisters of Our Lady of Piety. On March 19, 1936, the day dedicated to St. Joseph, she made her first religious vows in this congregation of Minas Gerais. From this date on, she became Sister Benigna Victima de Jesus. She began her apostolate by providing religious services in the places designated by the congregation. The Manoel Gonçalves de Souza Moreira Charity House, in Itaúna, was the first place where she worked. There, she took perpetual vows on January 6, 1941, and graduated from nursing. On January 1, 1943, she was appointed Mother Superior, thus assuming the direction of this house. In his new position, she founded a maternity hospital that assisted needy mothers.