New Saint Highlight

On October 13, 2019, in St. Peter’s Square, at a Mass with over 50,000 attendees, Pope Francis declared Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes, Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, Cardinal John Henry Newman, Margurite Bays, and Giuseppina Vannini saints.

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Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes

Born: May 26, 1914
Died: March 13, 1992

Life: Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes was born in 1914 in Salvador de Bahia as Maria Rita. At the age of 13, Maria felt called to serve the poorest of the poor. After high school, she joined the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Once she made her vows, Maria took on the religious name Sister Dulce. Compelled to care for the poor and vulnerable, Sister Dulce founded the Charitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce in 1959. In 1988 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her selfless work.