St. Rosa Francisca was a Spanish nun who founded an order of Spanish religious sisters who devoted themselves to women and the poor.

Rosa was born in 1815, in the economic capital of Spain’s Catalonia territory, Reus. Her parents instilled in Rosa a concern for the poor and those who were on the margins of their community. Her natural empathy blossomed into a religious calling when she received her first communion and felt drawn to Jesus in the Eucharist and in the poor.

In 1841, Rosa entered a congregation of hospital sisters in Reus. She worked in the hospitals of Reus and Tortosa, caring for the ill and wounded. But Rosa felt called to expand her mission outside of the hospitals. In 1857, she founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation, to care for the ill, the poor, and for those society did not care for.

Rosa eventually fell ill and died on June 11, 1876. Her order continues to care for the poor and marginalized worldwide.

In 1977, Pope Paul VI beatified Rosa. She was then canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

Saint Rosa Francisca, founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation—pray for us!