On August 2, we commemorated the 127th anniversary of the death of Sister María Angustias Giménez Vera, foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her story inspires us to be instruments of love and healing for the world, a mission that we renewed in the XXII General Chapter under the motto “Clothe yourselves with feelings of mercy”, to be “prophetic signs of hope and of God’s closeness to suffering humanity”.
A little of her history
Maria Angustias was born on August 21, 1849 in Granada, Spain, in a deeply Christian home. At the age of 22, she met María Josefa Recio, with whom she developed an inseparable friendship and a shared search for God, spiritually guided by St. Benedict Menni.
In 1880, they both left Granada and went to Ciempozuelos (Madrid, Spain) to join our founding father and establish the foundations of our congregation, responding to the need to care for women with mental illness, a neglected and marginalized sector of society. On May 31, 1881, Maria Angustias took the habit under the name of Sister Corazon de Jesus and began her novitiate along with 10 other young women, who became the first Hospitaller Sisters. Three years later, in 1885, she made her perpetual profession.
Her legacy
On August 2, 1897, Maria Angustias died in San Baudilio de Llobregat (Barcelona). Her remains rest in Ciempozuelos together with those of San Benito Menni and María Josefa Recio. Although they lived in the 19th century, their simplicity of life and depth of spirit continue to teach us much in the 21st century.
Let us allow ourselves to be surprised and challenged by the testimony of Sister María Angustias Giménez Vera, and may her example accompany us in our commitment to be a hospitable response to a suffering world.
