Saint of the day July 7: Blessed María Romero. Catholic Saints

Every July 7, the Church commemorates Blessed María Romero Meneses, a Nicaraguan Salesian nun, who dedicated her life to serving the poor and dispossessed. Sister María was beatified at the beginning of the millennium by Pope Saint John Paul II and is, at the moment, the second woman from Central America to receive such dignity. Today, her canonization process remains ongoing.

Sister María lived 75 years, of which forty-six were dedicated to the service of Our Lord, present in those who suffer. And Sister María was able to find in her neighbor the face of Christ himself when he was immersed in his most difficult hour.

Promotion of the person, promotion of peace

The life of Blessed María Romero is full of simple examples of how to put charity into practice, those capable of illuminating the way in which we Catholics should commit ourselves to social causes, that is, announcing Jesus, always close, always present.

In that sense, Sister María worked with hope to make this world – so often unjust – a better place, ‘a preview’ of the Kingdom of God. For that – and she knew it very well – neither violence nor fueling wounds or increasing ruptures is necessary, nor are grandiose speeches or loud harangues necessary. She was reliable proof that evangelical simplicity is the surest way to achieve the goal.

Vocation of service to society

Sister María Romero Meneses was born in Granada, Nicaragua, on January 13, 1902. She was the daughter of a well-known politician from her country, Don Félix Romero Arana, who served as Minister of Finance in the government of President José Santos Zelaya. Her mother was of Spanish origin, Mrs. Ana Meneses Blandón, a woman of deep devotion and social sensitivity.

In 1910, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), Salesian missionaries, arrived in Nicaragua, a congregation that would conquer the heart of a young María Romero, who would be linked to them forever. Thanks to her sisters, Mary immediately becomes in tune with the figure of the great apostle of youth, Don Bosco, in whose work she finds a model and a realization of the deepest ideals of her heart.

Nicaragua and Costa Rica united

In 1921 the young woman received the religious habit – she completed the novitiate in the Republic of El Salvador – and was renamed Sister María Romero. She made her final vows in 1929. A year and a half later (1931) she was sent to Costa Rica. There she served as an assistant in the congregation’s medical offices, she worked in youth boarding schools and in the Association for Aid to the Needy. The latter was made up of families who once lived in inhumane conditions and who later, freed from such a situation, dedicated themselves to helping other families in greater need.

In addition, Sister María was in charge of training abandoned young women and women, whom she instructed in domestic work – cooking, sewing and other crafts – so they could get a job that contributed to the sustenance of their families. She also offered, at symbolic prices or free of charge, new and used clothing items that she collected herself; and she distributed baskets with basic foods.

On the other hand, his contagious vitality and the solidity of his apostolic endeavors favored the formation of circles of donors – businessmen, wealthy families – to finance his extensive work. Meanwhile, groups of volunteers were organized, whom Sister María affectionately called “missionaries.” This is how works of the magnitude of the ‘House of the Virgin’ in San José were carried out.

Without a doubt, the years in Costa Rica produced abundant fruits. God also granted him the blessing of seeing how the social work he carried out often fell on his fellow Nicaraguans, who made up the largest migrant community in the country and the majority among the poor. Sister María always lived worried about them.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Mt 6, 21)

The Blessed’s ideal was always to deeply love Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and her greatest joy was to bring the truth of the Gospel closer to children, the poor, those who suffer, the marginalized, and to all those whom God loves with a passion. Her reward: witnessing the return of peace between sectors of society that were in conflict, as well as the return of faith to many souls usually considered lost.

The miracle

Sister María Romero died on July 7, 1977 of a myocardial infarction, during a period of rest.

In 2002 she was beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II, after the miracle of the Costa Rican girl María Solís was confirmed. While still in her mother’s womb, little María underwent a series of studies that pointed to a negative diagnosis. The doctors concluded that she would be born with a cleft lip and multiple other deformities. Thanks to the prayers offered by the girl’s mother to Blessed María Romero, little María Solis was born completely healthy.

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