Dulce de Souza Pontes | |
|---|---|
 Saint Dulce Lopes Pontes | |
| Born | Maria Rita de Souza Pontes (1914-05-26)26 May 1914 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |
| Died | 13 March 1992(1992-03-13) (aged 77) Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 22 May 2011, Church of Our Lady of Hope, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, by CardinalGeraldo Majella Agnelo |
| Canonized | 13 October 2019,Saint Peter's Square,Vatican City, byPope Francis |
| Majorshrine | Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |
| Feast | 13 August |
| Major works | FoundingCharitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce |
Dulce de Souza Lopes Pontes,S.M.I.C., widely known asIrmã Dulce (English: "Sister Dulce") and also asSaint Dulce of the Poor (bornMaria Rita de Souza Pontes; 26 May 1914 – 13 March 1992), was aBrazilian Catholic member of theMissionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, who belong to theThird Order Regular of St. Francis. She is known worldwide as an advocate for the poor of her country and was the founder of theObras Sociais Irmã Dulce ("Charitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce").
In 1949, Pontes started caring for the poorest of the poor in herconvent's chicken yard inSalvador, Bahia.[1] Today, more than 3,000 people arrive every day at this same site (where the Santo Antônio Hospital now stands) to receive free medical treatment. She also established CESA, a school for the poor inSimões Filho, one of the most impoverished cities in the state ofBahia.
At the time of her death in 1992, Pontes had been nominated for theNobel Peace Prize,[2][3] she had received two personal audiences withPope John Paul II, and she had, almost single-handedly, created one of the largest and most respected philanthropic organizations inBrazil. She was named the most admired woman in the history of Brazil byO Estado de S. Paulo newspaper[4] and the most influential religious person in Brazil during the 20th century, byISTOÉ magazine.[5]
In 2011, Pontes wasbeatified with papal approval byCardinalGeraldo Majella Agnelo, the penultimate step towardsainthood. In May 2019,Pope Francis, during an audience given to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints PrefectGiovanni Angelo Becciu, recognized a second miracle, which was needed to declare her a saint.[6][7] She was canonized by Pope Francis on 13 October 2019,[8] making her the first Brazilian female saint.[9]
Born inSalvador, Bahia, the second daughter of Augusto Lopes Pontes and Dulce Maria de Souza, asMaria Rita de Souza Pontes, she enteredreligious life when she was 18 years old. When she was thirteen years old, her aunt had taken her on a trip to the poor area of the city. The sight of the misery and poverty she encountered there made a deep impression on the young girl, who came from anupper middle-class background.
She began to care for thehomeless andbeggars in her neighborhood, giving them free haircuts and treating their wounds. By that time, she had already shown interest in following religious life.
She graduated from high school at the age of 18. She, then, asked her father to allow her to follow her religiouscalling. He agreed and she joined the Congregation of theMissionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, in Our Lady of Carmel Convent, inSergipe. A year later, she received thehabit of that congregation and was given the name "Dulce", in memory of her mother (who had died when she was 6 years old).
During the same year, she founded the "São Francisco's Worker's Union", the first Christian worker's movement in Bahia. A year later, she started welfare work in the poor communities of Alagados and Itapagipe. It was then that they started calling her the "Angel of Alagados". In 1937, she transformed the Worker's Union into the Worker's Center of Bahia.
Determined to house sick people who came to her for help, in 1939 Pontes started to shelter them in abandoned houses inSalvador's 'Ilha dos Ratos' (rats' island) district. Then she would go in search of food, medicine andmedical care. Later, when she and her patients were evicted from the neighborhood, she started housing them in an old fish market, but City Hall denied her the use of the space and told her to leave.
Facing a big problem and already taking care of over 70 people, she turned to theMother Superior of her convent and asked her permission to use the convent's chicken yard as an improvised hostel. The Superior reluctantly agreed, so long as Pontes could take care of the chickens (which she did, by feeding them to her patients). That improvised hostel gave rise to the Hospital Santo Antonio, the center of a medical, social and educational complex which continues to open doors for the poor in Bahia and throughout Brazil.[10]
There, in 1960, the Santo Antônio Hospital, consisting of 150 beds, was inaugurated. On 26 May 1959 theCharitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce was born, a result of the determination of areligious sister who was tireless in her attendance to the sick and to thebeggars who lived onSalvador's streets.
Pontes's work impressed thePresident of Brazil,José Sarney, who in 1988 nominated her for theNobel Peace Prize, with support ofQueen Silvia of Sweden.
The organization she founded, known by its Portuguese acronym as OSID (Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce), is one of the most well-known and respected philanthropic organizations in Brazil.
TheCharitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce is a private charity chartered under Brazilian law. It is accredited at federal, state and municipal levels and registered by the National Welfare Council and the Federal Ministry of Education.
OSID provides health, welfare and education services, with a strong commitment to medical education and research.
The Santo Antônio Hospital is the largest completely free hospital in Brazil, according to the Federal Ministry of Health. It has over 1,000 beds and receives more than 3,000 patients every day.
OSID also established CESA (Santo Antônio Educational Center), a school for the poor in Simões Filho, one of the most impoverished cities in theMetropolitan Area ofSalvador and in the State ofBahia. There, OSID provides free educational programs for approximately 800 children and young people ranging in age from 6 to 19 years old.
CESA offers basic education in accordance with the guidelines of theBrazilian Federal Ministry of Education. In addition, CESA has developed a complementary program of educational, physical and professional development activities to help students learn more effectively and enrich their lives.
It also operates a commercial bakery and an orthopedic production center, staffed by professional workers, which produce and sell their products in many regions of Brazil and internationally, following the idea of self-sustainability which is part of the work concept created by Pontes.
During the last 30 years of her life, Pontes's lungs were highly impaired and she had only 30% breathing capacity. In 1990, her respiratory problems began to worsen and she was hospitalized. It was in her sick bed that she received the visit ofPope John Paul II (whom she had met, for the first time, in 1980).
After being hospitalized for 16 months, Pontes died on 13 March 1992, at the age of 77, in Santo Antônio's Convent, and she was buried at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. On 26 May 2000, her body was transferred to the Chapel of Santo Antônio Convent.
On 9 June 2010, Pontes was finally buried at the Imaculada Conceição da Madre de Deus church, inSalvador, Bahia. It was discovered that her body was naturallyincorrupt and even her clothes were still preserved 18 years after her death.[11]
Pontes received the titleServant of God underPope John Paul II with the beginning of the cause for herbeatification in January 2000 under the Archbishop of Salvador da Bahia and Primate of Brazil,Geraldo Majella Agnelo, who examined herheroic virtues, fame ofsainthood and the tireless determination of a life dedicated to the needy.
In June 2001 the process continued in theCongregation for the Causes of the Saints. In June 2003 the Congregation received thepositio. At that same time, the Congregation recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Pontes.
On 10 May 2007, in a meeting withPope Benedict XVI during his visit to Brazil, the Governor ofSão Paulo and former Presidential candidateJosé Serra said he would send a letter to theHoly See in favor of Pontes's beatification.[12]
On 20 January 2009, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints unanimously recommended toPope Benedict XVI that he proclaim Pontes's heroic virtue. Pope Benedict XVI approved and on 3 April 2009 granted her the titleVenerable.[13] Pontes's body was exhumed and examined on 9 July 2010 as part of the beatification process, and was found to be still incorrupt.
On 27 October 2010, the Archbishop of Salvador announced that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had recognized a miracle attributed to her intercession, paving the way for her to be beatified. The pope officially approved on 10 December 2010.[14] Pontes was beatified in aMass on 22 May 2011, in Salvador, Bahia. The Mass was presided over by the Archbishop of Salvador and the Primate of Brazil, CardinalGeraldo Majella Agnelo, who conducted the beatification by mandate of Pope Benedict XVI; the service was attended by about 70,000 people. PresidentDilma Rousseff and GovernorJaques Wagner also attended.[15]
On 13 May 2019, Congregation of Saints Prefect Angelo Becciu approved a miracle.[6][7] The decree recognizing the second miracle was then signed by Pope Francis, thus ensuring that Pontes would be canonized.[6][7] It was announced on 1 July 2019 that Pontes would be canonized with four others on 13 October 2019,[8][16] making her the first Brazilian female saint.[9]
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