Venerable Dorotea de Chopitea

Antonia Dorotea de Chopitea de Villota (4 June 1816, Santiago, Chile – 3 April 1891, Barcelona, Spain) was a Chile-born philanthropist and social worker based in Barcelona. She is considered the principal patroness and the most important social work promoter in Barcelona in the 19th century. She was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul I on 9 June 1983. Antonia Dorotea de Chopitea de Villota was born on 4 June 1816 in Santiago, Chile, to Pedro Nicolás de Chopitea and Isabel de Villota. Her father was a royalist and after the proclamation of Independence of Chile his assets were confiscated. In 1819, the family was forced in to move to Spain and settled in Barcelona. In 1831, they briefly returned to Chile hoping to recover lost possessions and obtain compensation for their confiscated assets, however it was unsuccessful, and the family returned to Barcelona the same year. At the age of 16, Chopitea married 22-year-old Josep Maria Serra Muñoz on 31 October 1832. The marriage was against the will of Chopitea's parents. Her husband later was among the founders of the Bank of Barcelona and the Maquinista Terrestre y Maritima, as well as a consul to the Chilean government in Barcelona. Between 1834 and 1845 Chopitea became a mother of six daughters. They were named Dorotea, Ana María, Isabel, María Luisa, Carmen and Jesuina. One of the daughters died when she was 16. In 1873, The Serra-Chopitea family settled in the Eixample, in a palace-house on the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes (currently occupied by the Hotel Gran Vía). Dorotea de Chopitea died on 3 April 1891 in Barcelona at the age of 74. In 1928, her remains were transferred from the cemetery of the Poblenou neighborhood to The Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians in Sarrià, founded by her. In 1835, after the protests and the burning of convents, Chopitea was determined to support the marginalized social strata and spend money for education of the working class youth.