Blessed Maria Romero Meneses

María Romero Meneses, FMA (13 January 1902 – 7 July 1977) was a Nicaraguan Catholic religious sister and a professed member from the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco dubbed the "Social Apostle of Costa Rica". The beatification process started on September 20, 1988, and she was titled as a Servant of God before being named Venerable on December 18, 2000. Pope John Paul II beatified her on April 14, 2002. María Romero Meneses was born in Nicaragua in 1902 as one of eight children to middle-class parents – her father was a government minister. Her parents were Félix Romero Arana and Ana Meneses Blandón. Her baptism was held on January the 20th. She received her Confirmation on July 23, 1904, from Siméon Pereira y Castellón and received her First Communion on December 8, 1909. Romero was found to have a talent for art and music and so her parents saw to it that she was trained on the piano and the violin. She later attended the Salesians Sisters of Don Bosco's school, although in 1914 she was stricken with a long bout of rheumatic fever which she suffered until 1915 and it left her heart damaged for the remainder of her life. When she recovered it was deemed to be miraculous in nature and this led to a total confidence in the Madonna and to the vision of her vocation to the order. The hopeful girl joined the Marian association Daughters of Mary Help of Christians on December 8, 1915, to follow her Marian call. In 1920 she joined that congregation and left for El Salvador for her period of novitiate, receiving the habit of the order on January 16, 1921. Her spiritual director was Father Emilio Bottari who gave her a prophetic recommendation: "Even though difficult moments will come and you will feel torn to pieces, be faithful and strong in your vocation". These words sustained her for the rest of her religious life. On 6 January 1929 in Nicaragua she made her final profession.