Blessed María Romero Meneses

I was born in 1902 in Granada, Nicaragua, to a wealthy family. My father was a government minister. At the age of 12, I begin to discover my vocation. I entered the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and made my final profession in 1929. When I was transferred to Costa Rica, I became a teacher of music, drawing, typing, and also a trainer for catechists. I always had a deep wish to help people to come to know God in a personal way. My mission became focused on social development. I wanted to make rich people see how they could help the poor, so I developed a ministry of fund raising. I set up recreational centers, food distribution centers, a clinic and a school for poor girls. In the city where I lived, San Jose, many people lived in miserable conditions, so I organized the construction of several homes, which  became the foundation of Centro San Jose. It was created as a community where poor people could find a proper home. I died from a heart attack in Nicaragua.