Feast of Sister Rosalía Rendú, “mother of the poor”
Today marks the 170th anniversary of the death of Juana María Rendú, who took the name Sister Rosalía when she arrived at the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris in 1802. Known as the “mother of the poor” for more than 50 years of dedication and service to those most in need, she was beatified by John Paul II in 2003.
Her tireless work built bridges between social classes by dedicating the donations she received to the establishment of nurseries, schools, an orphanage, shelters for the elderly and young workers, dispensaries and clothing rooms in the Parisian district of Mouffetard.
When Frédéric Ozanam and his friends founded the Conference of Charity in 1833, they turned to Sister Rosalía for support and guidance. It was she who taught these young people “to see Our Lord in the poor, and the traces of His crown of thorns on their foreheads”.
In 1852, Napoleon III awarded her the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.
On 7 February 1856, the day of her funeral, a great crowd followed the coffin to the Montparnasse Cemetery, where she still receives flowers of gratitude today. On her tomb one can read: “To Sister Rosalía, from her friends, the rich and the poor”.
