María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña
María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña, ICDS (30 December 1848 – 10 January 1918) was a Spanish Catholic nun and the founder of the Sisters of the Catechetical Institute.
Her religious activism came about from her earliest experiences in Almería where she tended to the poor including a leper though she later moved to Madrid and Puerto Rico where she continued her care for the poor and the sick. Her return to her native land saw her continue her work and her commitment to establishing religious and secular movements for others all directed towards active participation and care for poor people.
The beatification process commenced on 19 June 1980 and she became titled as a Servant of God while later being named as Venerable in 1992 after her life of heroic virtue was confirmed; Pope John Paul II later beatified her in Saint Peter's Square on 23 March 2003.
Patron saint of Sisters of the Catechetical Institute
In the Martyrology
- January 10 Blessed María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña, founder of the Dolores Sopena Catechetical Institute