Venerated in Roman Catholic Church Attributes Nun's habit | Feast 9 February Beatified 1 May 1977 | |
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Patronage Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation Died 11 June 1876, Tortosa, Spain | ||
Saint Rosa Francisca Dolors Molas Vallvé (24 March 1815 – 11 June 1876) was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun. Following her solemn profession as a nun she assumed the name of "Maria Rosa" and also established the religious congregation known as the Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation.
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Vallvé decided that her order would be devoted to women and for service to the poor who mostly required aid.
Pope Paul VI beatified her in mid 1977 and she was beatified in late 1988 as a result of the recognition of three miracles attributed to her intercession. She remains as a patron saint of her order.
Life
Rosa Francisca Dolors Molas Vallvé was born on 24 March 1815 in Spain to Jose Molas and Maria Vallvé. She was baptized on 25 March. She was known as a child for her intuitive and sensitive nature with tenderness to the poor and those on the peripheries. As a child she was empathetic to the plight of others and wanted to devote herself to alleviating the suffering of those people.
Her First Communion witnessed the birth of her religious calling and she decided that she wanted to consecrate herself to God as a professed religious, assuming the name of "Maria Rosa". In January 1841 she entered the Corporation Sisters of Charity who served in a hospital in Reus. She remained in the city on 11 June 1844 to help people despite the bombardment of the city by the troops of General Zurbano. She later went with her fellow sisters to Tortosa in 1849 where the scope of her mission expanded.
On 14 March 1857 she established her own religious congregation for women to assist in aiding the poor and the outcasts. She named the order the Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation on 14 November 1858.
In May 1876 she could feel that her health was slowly declining and that her end was near. She remarked to her confessor: "Be it done the holy will of God". She died on 11 June 1876.
The process
The canonization process commenced under Pope Pius XII on 27 July 1951 with the commencement of two local processes in Spain that would collect documents and witness testimonies in order to compile the Positio. The commencement of the cause gave her the title Servant of God and the processes were both ratified on 23 November 1956 so that the cause could proceed to the next stage.
The documentation did not receive consideration until almost a decade after and it culminated on 4 October 1974 when Pope Paul VI proclaimed her to be Venerable after recognizing the fact that she lived a life of heroic virtue.
Beatification
The diocesan tribunal for the evaluation of two miracles commenced and concluded in 1954 and was ratified on 23 November 1956 along with the process for the accumulation of documentation. It was not until two decades later that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome began to evaluate it. On 20 January 1977 the Pope approved them and beatified her on 1 May 1977.
The miracle was the healing of Elvira Ruiz Llopis who had severe peritonitis and was taken to hospital on 4 October 1944 where the sisters running the hospital prayed for the intercession of Vallvé. Against all odds of survival, she recovered from her ailment.
Canonization
The miracle for canonization was also investigated and was ratified in 1987. Pope John Paul II approved it on 28 March 1988 and canonized her on 11 December 1988.