María de la Purísima Salvat Romero (20 February 1926 – 31 October 1998), is one of the saints to recently join the Roman liturgical calendar, beatified in Seville on September 18, 2010, by the Archbishop and canonized on October 18, 2015, by Pope Francis in Rome.

María joined the Sisters of the Company of the Cross on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1944. She was elected to the position of Superior General of the Congregation in 1977 and was re-elected three times, remaining in that position until her death in 1998. While working tirelessly to renew her congregation, updating their congregation and promoting faithfulness to the church during turbulent times, María de la Purísima made the time to meet each morning with the sick and the poor who came to the sisters for assistance, both bodily and spiritual. She passed away of cancer in 1998.

She is second only to John Paul II (18 May 1920- 2 April 2005, canonized 27 April 2014) in speed of canonization among modern saints. Read more about her beatification here (note: page in Spanish).

She is a patron saint of the Sisters of the Company of the Holy Cross and of the Spanish city of Seville.

Saint María de la Purísima, who worked tirelessly for Christ embodied in her community and in the least of our brothers and sisters, pray for us!