Venerable Maria Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo

María Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo y Pidal, religious name María Rosario of the Visitation, (Filipino: María Beatriz del Rosario Pidal Arroyo; February 17, 1884 – June 14, 1957) was a Filipino nun and the founder of the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines (Dominican Sisters of Molo). Arroyo was born on Feb. 17, 1884, in Molo, Iloilo to a pious couple, Ignacio Arroyo and Doña María Pidal, as the only daughter of three children. Her two brothers were José María Arroyo and Mariano Arroyo. José became a senator in 1919, while Mariano was governor of Iloilo in 1928. She is a grand-aunt of former First Gentleman José Miguel "Mike" Tuason Arroyo, husband of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the fourteenth president of the Philippines, congresswoman of Pampanga and 21st House Speaker. Rosario's closest relative, niece Mariquita Arroyo Tuell Richmer (daughter of Mariano Arroyo) died in 2014 in Indiana, USA. She was christened María Beatriz del Rosario at the Santa Ana Church in Molo on February 20, 1884, by Agapito Buenaflor. A noteworthy tradition of her family was almsgiving; Arroyo thus participated in the corporal works of mercy from an early age. Unspoilt by her affluent upbringing as a member of the aristocracy, she preferred a simple life and reportedly donated her inheritance to the congregation upon becoming an heiress. Arroyo first attended classes at the Colegio de Santa Ana, a private school in Molo. In preparation for her first communion, she was transferred to Colegio de San José administered by the Daughters of Charity. She stayed at the Colegio until she finished her elementary education. The young Arroyo joined the religious life in the Beaterio de Sta. Catalina in Manila and made her profession on January 3, 1914. She was taught at the Beaterio of Manila and in Lingayen. She then became a nun in the Dominican Order.