María Emilia Riquelme y Zayas

After the death of her father in February 1885 in Seville, Maria Emilia inherited the family fortune. She decided to use all of her assets for charitable and apostolic works. She first attempted to realize her religious vocation by joining the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Divine Heart (Ancillas del Divino Corazón), founded by Marcelo Spínola, where she served as mistress of novices. However, her fragile health forced her to leave the community after one year.

Upon returning to lay life, she obtained exceptional authorization from the archbishopric to keep the Blessed Sacrament in her private oratory in order to devote herself to Eucharistic adoration. Under the spiritual direction of the Archbishop of Granada, Msgr. José Moreno y Mazón, she understood that the Lord was calling her to found a new work.

On March 25, 1896, in Granada, she founded the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and Mary Immaculate (Misioneras del Santísimo Sacramento y María Inmaculada). The religious sisters dedicated themselves to the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the education of children and young people, as well as missions in disadvantaged countries.

The institute received diocesan approval in 1896, followed by the Decree of Praise (Decretum Laudis) and definitive pontifical approval from Pope Saint Pius X in 1912. During a trip to Rome for the approval of the Constitutions, Maria Emilia fell seriously ill and had to remain in Italy for four and a half years, maintaining active correspondence with her sisters in Spain.

Under her leadership, the congregation grew rapidly, opening houses in Barcelona (1900), then expanding to Portugal, Brazil, and Bolivia. Maria Emilia passed away on December 10, 1940, at the Mother House in Granada, at the age of 93.

The cause for the beatification of Maria Emilia Riquelme y Zayas was officially opened in the Archdiocese of Granada in 1982, granting her the status of Servant of God. The diocesan process concluded in 1991 and was validated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1992.

On December 14, 2015, Pope Francis recognized the heroic nature of her virtues and declared her Venerable.

On March 19, 2019, Pope Francis approved the promulgation of the decree recognizing a miracle attributed to her intercession. This miracle concerns the sudden and scientifically inexplicable healing, which occurred in 2003, of Nelson de Jesús Yepes, a Colombian man suffering from severe acute pancreatitis with a life-threatening prognosis. His sister, Emilia Yepes, a religious sister within the congregation founded by the Blessed, had initiated a novena of prayer to Mother Riquelme and placed an image of the foundress under the patient's pillow.

The beatification ceremony of Maria Emilia Riquelme y Zayas was celebrated on November 9, 2019, in the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Granada. The celebration was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis.

The beneficiary of the miracle, Nelson Yepes, personally attended the ceremony alongside his family and the doctor who confirmed his recovery, Dr. Samuel Blanco.

The following day, November 10, 2019, during the Angelus prayer at the Vatican, Pope Francis greeted the new blessed in these terms: "The new blessed was exemplary in the fervor of Eucharistic adoration and generous in the service of the most needy."

Her liturgical feast is set for December 10, the anniversary of her death.

The spirituality of Maria Emilia Riquelme y Zayas rests on two fundamental pillars: the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary. She considered the Eucharist as "paradise on earth" and adoration as her "hour of heaven." Her love for Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament was translated into a concrete commitment to the most destitute, combining contemplation and missionary action.

Her legacy continues today through the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and Mary Immaculate. The religious sisters, often called "Riqueliminas" in Spain, continue their mission of adoration, youth education, and social aid. The congregation is currently present in several countries, notably in Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Bolivia, Colombia, the United States, Angola, Peru, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Her mortal remains rest and are venerated in the chapel of the Mother House of the congregation in Granada.