Blessed Maria Romero Meneses was a modern-day social reformer who brought about a “revolution of charity” in Costa Rica.

She was born in Nicaragua in 1902, one of eight children who grew up in an upper class family. Maria received a very good education at a school staffed by sisters in a religious community founded by St. John Bosco—they were known as the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians.

When she was 12 years old, Maria fell sick with rheumatic fever, and struggled all year to regain her health. She was completely paralyzed for six months, but was patient and prayerful in her suffering, which she saw as a gift from God. Doctors reported that her heart was damaged from the sickness, but she appealed to Our Lady, Help of Christians, and received some sort of assurance that she would be healed.

When a friend from school visited her, she said, “I know that the Blessed Virgin will cure me.” A few days later, she regained her health and returned to school, fully recovered.

A spiritual director helped her sort through and better understand the mystical experiences she was having, and she realized that she was being called to religious life. She joined the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians—the nuns who staffed her school—and closely followed the spirituality of John Bosco.

In 1931, she was sent to Costa Rica, where she taught at a school for girls from wealthy families. She also went into the poor neighborhoods to teach the faith there, and to help people acquire practical skills for work. Her example moved students at the school, and many girls joined her work to improve the lives of the poor.

Maria began to understand her purpose in life—to encourage social development by helping wealthy people see how they could change the lives of poor people. She gathered resources and established recreational centers and food distribution organizations. In 1961, she opened a school for poor girls; a few years later, she opened a clinic and supported it by recruiting doctors and finding donations for medicine.

She had a vision to build a village for poor people that contained all they needed to flourish. In 1973, the first seven homes were built in a new development outside of the city named Centro San Josè—it grew to include a farm, a market, and a school where people could learn the faith and find job training. It also included a church dedicated to Our Lady, Help of Christians.

Maria knew that she was participating in God’s work, so she had every confidence that her efforts at social development would grow. She died of a heart attack on this date in 1977, and she is buried in the chapel in San Josè. She is the first Central American to be beatified, and her image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

Bl. Maria Romero Meneses, you brought about a revolution of charity in Costa Rica in the 1970s—pray for us!