Saint Saint María of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

María Natividad Venegas de la Torre (religious name María of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, 8 September 1868 – 30 July 1959) was a Mexican religious sister in the Roman Catholic Church. Torre founded the congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Guadalajara (Congregationem Sororum Filiarum Sacri Cordis Iesu) in 1930. María Natividad Venegas de la Torre was born on 8 September 1868 in Mexico as the last of twelve children. Her mother died when she was sixteen and the family suffered financial hardships after this as a result. Her father died when she was nineteen, and she was taken in by a paternal aunt. A pious child, she spent her time giving religious instruction to neighbors and also cared for those who were poor. Venegas joined the Association of the Daughters of Mary on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception 1898. Later, she established a small group of women devoted to the plight of the ill. She served in this capacity as a nurse as well as a bookkeeper and pharmacist. She entered religious life in 1905 and made her vows in 1910. Torre established the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Guadalajara and was elected as Superior General of the new congregation on 25 January 1921. The constitutions were approved in 1930. Venegas de la Torre worked for donations to establish a residence for the sisters in 1922, and this occurred during a period of widespread religious persecution during the Cristero Rebellion. During this period, she continued to operate a hospital and it only served to strengthen her congregation throughout this period. She catered to the needs of priests as well as seminarians. She died in 1959. The beatification process commenced in Guadalajara on 19 June 1980 in a local process that saw the accumulation both documentation and witness testimonies. The commencement of the process conferred upon her the posthumous title Servant of God.