The life and legacy of M Angustias Giménez continues to live on in the charism of the Hospitaller Sisters, inviting people to live hospitality through simplicity, creativity, trust, and service to the most vulnerable.
María Angustias Giménez was born in Granada (Spain) on August 21, 1849, and was baptized in the parish of Saints Justus and Pastor. In 1871 she met María Josefa Recio, with whom she established a deep friendship. On June 21, 1880, both left Granada for Ciempozuelos (Madrid), where they were received by Saint Benito Menni in a modest house. On May 31, 1881, she took the habit under the name of Sister Corazón de Jesús. She died in Sant Boi de Llobregat (Barcelona) on August 2, 1897. Her remains stayed in her family’s pantheon until 1983, when they were found by chance. They currently rest in Ciempozuelos alongside those of Saint Benito Menni and María Josefa Recio.
A woman of overflowing imagination, deeply affectionate and of great spiritual sensitivity, María Angustias lived with a profound trust in God and a constant openness to others. Her ability to open new paths, cultivate the interior life, and recognize the value of every person continues to be a source of inspiration for the hospitaller mission. From a letter by Saint Benito Menni she made her own the motto “to pray, to work, to endure, to suffer, to love God and to remain silent,” words that have accompanied the life of the Congregation since its beginnings.
At the request of Saint Benito Menni, María Angustias wrote the Account on the Origins of the Congregation, a work which, together with the founder’s correspondence, constitutes the principal source for understanding the spirituality and the birth of the Institute. More than a chronicle of events, this writing records a profoundly human, spiritual, and charismatic experience, conceived to preserve the memory of the origins and inspire future generations.
