The Parish of Santo Amaro, in Madeira, will commemorate next Friday, September 4, the 189th anniversary of the birth of Venerável Teresa de Saldanha. The celebration will begin at 6:00 PM with a moment of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by a Thanksgiving Eucharist. The initiative is open to the entire community and aims to remember the life and spiritual legacy of this Portuguese religious, particularly linked to education, the promotion of women, and service to those most in need.
Teresa de Saldanha was born in Lisbon on September 4, 1837, and died on January 8, 1916. In a period marked by the extinction of religious orders in Portugal, she herself founded the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena, whose first community opened in Lisbon in 1868. She is recognized as the first woman to found a religious congregation in Portugal after the extinction of religious orders in 1834.
Her work developed especially in the fields of education and social assistance. At the time of her death, the congregation already had 27 houses in various countries. The canonization process was opened in Portugal in 1999 and, in December 2015, Pope Francis authorized the decree that recognized her heroic virtues, granting her the title of Venerable.
The commemoration has particular significance in Santo Amaro, where there is a community of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena. The presence of the religious in this Madeiran parish dates back to 1953, with the 70th anniversary of their arrival celebrated in 2023.
