María Rafols Bruna
María Rafols Bruna (5 November 1781 – 30 August 1853) was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun, mystic and the co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne that she established alongside the Catholic priest Juan Bonal Cortada. María Rafols dedicated her entire life to the care of the ill working in hospitals in Zaragoza and during times of war risked her life to aid others. Internal complications and a range of outside interferences saw María Rafols be appointed to and resign from various leadership positions and she was captured – though later released – during the Carlist War.
María Rafols was considered a saint after her death which led to the commencement of her canonization cause under Pope Pius XI on 6 August 1931 while being titled as Venerable under Pope John Paul II in 1991 who also beatified her on 16 October 1994 at Saint Peter's Square.
Patron saint of Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne; Nurses
In the Martyrology
- August 30 Blessed María Rafols Bruna, virgin, founder of Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne