Saint Genoveva Torres Morales

Genoveva Torres Morales (3 January 1870 – 5 January 1956) was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun who established her own congregation known as the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Holy Angels. She wanted her new congregation to focus on the care of women. During her life and after her death, she was referred to as an "Angel of Solitude". Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1995 and canonized her in 2003 in Spain. Genoveva Torres Morales was born in Almenara in 1870 as the last of six children to poor parents whom she lost before she was eight years old. Four of her six brothers also died at this point. She remained in the care of her eldest brother José who was 18. Despite this hard life she remained steadfast in her faith which never wavered. Of course this also impacted on her completion of her education due to the circumstances. Despite the fact that he treated her with much respect José was taciturn and demanding of her. Deprived of affection and companionship Morales grew quite accustomed to solitude. In 1882 an infection in her knee led to the amputation of her leg, she was forced to walk with crutches. She found solace in spiritual reading. In 1885 she moved to a hospice run by the Carmelites, who taught her to sew. She remained there for almost a decade while she deepened her spiritual life and grew attracted to community life. She also met the priest Carlos Ferrís who would help her deepen her spiritual life. Although she wished to join the congregation, her health precluded that and in 1895 returned to her hometown with the idea of establishing a congregation with a special emphasis on caring for elderly women. To that end she consulted with spiritual directors as well as the Jesuits - in particular Martín Sánchez - and began to plan how she would go about this mission of hers. Her first aim was to establish special houses for women that were in need of assistance and the first house was opened in 1911 in Valencia.