Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña

María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña, ICDS (30 December 1848 – 10 January 1918) was a Spanish Catholic nun and the founder of the Sisters of the Catechetical Institute. Her religious activism came about from her earliest experiences in Almería where she tended to the poor including a leper though she later moved to Madrid and Puerto Rico where she continued her care for the poor and the sick. Her return to her native land saw her continue her work and her commitment to establishing religious and secular movements for others all directed towards active participation and care for poor people. The beatification process commenced on 19 June 1980 and she became titled as a Servant of God while later being named as Venerable in 1992 after her life of heroic virtue was confirmed; Pope John Paul II later beatified her in Saint Peter's Square on 23 March 2003. María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña was born on 30 December 1848 as the fourth of seven children to Tomas Rodríguez Sopeña and Nicolasa Ortega Salomon; her baptism was celebrated in the following month. Her father - although trained in law and due to his age - was working as a farm administrator. Her father later was named as a magistrate and in 1866 was promoted as a barrister. This exposed her to higher social circles but she did not like being exposed to them for she liked to be with poorer people and in 1866 she often visited the poor with her mother. Her father was posted to Puerto Rico in 1869 - and took the eldest son with him - but her mother and most of her siblings moved to Madrid where she taught at a women's prison. In 1872 the rest of them moved to Puerto Rico. In 1856 she had an operation for her sight but this instead left her with limited sight. Two sisters suffered from an illness and she tended to them in addition to a leper - she kept this hidden from her parents for she was worried she would be forbidden to continue her work.