María Pilar López de Maturana

Margarita María felt a pressing call to universal mission. In 1920, she founded the association "Juventud Mercedaria Misionera de Bérriz." Desirous of sending religious women into the field, she obtained provisional authorization from the Pope in 1926 to send sisters on mission abroad. Expeditions departed for Wuhu in China (1926), Saipan in the Mariana Islands (1927), then Ponape in the Caroline Islands and Japan (1928). Faced with this success, she undertook the transformation of the contemplative monastery into an active missionary institute. After a unanimous vote by the 94 nuns, Pope Pius XI officially approved the transformation on May 23, 1930. In 1931, she was elected the first Superior General.

Shortly after her election, Margarita María fell gravely ill with stomach cancer. She endured her sufferings with patience and passed away on July 23, 1934, in Donostia-San Sebastián at the age of 49. Her reputation for holiness spread rapidly. On March 16, 1987, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus proclaiming her venerable.

On April 28, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI approved the decree recognizing the inexplicable healing of a Mexican woman that occurred in 1999, attributed to her intercession. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on October 22, 2006, in the Cathedral of Santiago in Bilbao, presided over by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.

The spirituality of Margarita María is rooted in the redemptive charism of the Order of Mercy, founded by Saint Peter Nolasco. She expanded this charism by giving it a universal and missionary dimension to liberate human beings from new forms of slavery. Her legacy continues today through the Missionary Mercedarians of Berriz on several continents.