Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña
Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña (born December 30, 1848 AD in Vélez-Rubio, Almería, Spain; died January 10, 1918 AD in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish religious and social apostle, founder of the Sopeña Catechetical Institute (the Ladies of the Catechetical Institute) and of the Sopeña Lay Movement (Social and Cultural Work Center), dedicated to the Christian education and human advancement of workers and the poor. She is venerated as a Blessed of the Church. Her feast day is January 10.
A woman of the well-to-do class who was moved by the plight of the poor and of workers estranged from the Church, María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña devoted her life to bringing them the Gospel, education, and social support, founding institutions of consecrated and lay members for this mission. She was beatified in 2003.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña
| Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | January 10 |
| Profession | Founder of the Sopeña Catechetical Institute; social and catechetical apostle |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Sopeña Catechetical Institute (Ladies of the Catechetical Institute) |
| Patronage | Catechists; workers; social apostolate; the poor |
| Attributes | Catechesis; care of workers and the poor; teaching |
| Birthplace | Vélez-Rubio, Almería, Spain |
| Death Place | Madrid, Spain |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; founder of the Sopeña Catechetical Institute and social apostle; died at Madrid |
| Primary Shrine | Madrid, Spain |
Biography
María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña was born on December 30, 1848, at Vélez-Rubio in the province of Almería, Spain, into a comfortable family; her father was a magistrate whose career took the family to various places, including Cuba and Puerto Rico. Well educated and devout, María Dolores was moved from her youth by compassion for the poor and the sick, and she began works of charity and catechesis wherever she lived, including among the poor and the imprisoned overseas.
Returning to Spain and settling in Madrid, she was struck by the situation of the industrial workers and the urban poor of her day, many of them cut off from the Church and from education, and prey to ideologies hostile to religion. She conceived a mission of drawing near to these people—not merely to relieve their material need, but to bring them the Gospel, human formation, and a sense of dignity and community, "uniting" people across social classes in Christian charity.
To carry out this mission she founded the Sopeña Catechetical Institute, a congregation of consecrated women (the Ladies of the Catechetical Institute), and also lay associations and social and cultural centers—a "Social Work Center"—in which consecrated and lay members together served workers and the poor through catechesis, schools, libraries, and social works. Her apostolate spread in Spain and to the Americas.
María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña died at Madrid on January 10, 1918. She was beatified on March 23, 2003, by Pope John Paul II. Her feast is kept on January 10.
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Feast day
January 10
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