Venerated in Roman Catholic Church Attributes Nun's habit | Feast 16 August Beatified 16 October 1994 | |
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Born 6 December 1845
Valle de Abdalajís, Valle de Abdalajís, Spain ( 1845-12-06 ) Patronage Congregation of the Mothers of the Abandoned Died 16 August 1906, Barcelona, Spain Parents María Florido González, José Pérez Reina | ||
Blessed Ana Petra Pérez Florido (6 December 1845 – 16 August 1906) was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun. Florido went on to establish her own new religious congregation known as the Congregation of the Mothers of the Abandoned in order to care for those who were abandoned as well as for the old. She also assumed the new name of "Petra of Saint Joseph" after she made her religious profession.
Contents
She was beatified on 16 October 1994.
Life
Ana Petra Pérez Florido was born on 6 December 1845 in Spain as the last of five children to José Perez and Maria Florido. She was baptized with the name of "Ana Josefa". Her mother died when she was three and her paternal grandmother - Teresa - was interested in her education. From her she learnt about the importance of the Eucharist as well as a devotion to the Mother of God.
Twice two men of good families asked her for marriage but her father rejected such proposals for political reasons. It was all to her relief for she said: "I have no vocation for marriage". She declined all future opportunities for marriage and her parents did not respond well to her refusals and were even harsher when she informed her parents of her sincere desire to join religious life as a servant of God.
Her parents attempted to prevent her from responding to her vocation and she could not enter the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor due to their interference. In 1872 her father relented and gave her his blessing for joining religious life; her father died at the beginning of 1875. She at once began catering to the needs of the old and the abandoned. Officials requested that she open a house for the old and she did this on 19 March 1875. The home was named "The Porch of Bethlehem". She became a member of another congregation in the 1870s but decided to establish her own congregation and approval was granted on 25 December 1880 for her to do so; her first profession saw her assume the name "Ana of Saint Joseph" in 1891. The local bishop granted his approval of the order at the beginning of 1883 and Pope Leo XIII granted his formal approval of the order in 1891. Her perpetual profession was on 15 October 1891.
Florido died on 16 August 1906 in Barcelona and her funeral was held on 18 August. Her remains were transferred elsewhere on 5 November 1920 but disappeared during the Spanish Civil War. The remains were found in 1983 and reburied on 10 June 1984.
Beatification
The beatification process commenced in 1932 and it concluded its work in 1933 which was the accumulation of all documentation and witness testimonies. This all occurred despite the fact that the cause did not open on a formal level on 3 December 1944 under Pope Pius XII which conferred upon him the posthumous title Servant of God. The second process in Barcelona continued the work of the first process in 1948 and it concluded in 1949. The formal decree of ratification of both processes came in 1952 and it ensured that the cause proceeded to the next stage.
He was proclaimed to be Venerable on 14 June 1971 after Pope Paul VI recognized that she had lived a life of heroic virtue.
The miracle for beatification was investigated and received ratification on 18 October 1991. Pope John Paul II approved the miracle in 1993 and beatified her on 16 October 1994.