Maria Rosa Teresa Gay Tibau

Deeply touched by the suffering and abandonment of the poor sick of Girona, Maria Rosa Teresa Gay Tibau matured the project of founding a religious association entirely dedicated to their service. With the support and consent of the Ros-Llausas family, she joined forces with her friend Carme Esteve i Andoca. On June 29, 1870, the feast day of Saint Peter, they founded a small association of women dedicated to visiting, caring for, and watching over the sick and the dying, both physically and spiritually. The members of this association devoted themselves tirelessly, day and night, to the bedside of the suffering. Because of this constant nocturnal presence, the local population affectionately nicknamed them "the watchers" (las veladoras) or "the night lights of the sick." In 1870, as Pope Pius IX had proclaimed Saint Joseph the patron of the Universal Church, the new community placed itself under his protection and took the name of the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Girona (now the Religious of Saint Joseph of Girona). Under Maria's leadership, the institute experienced rapid development. Other local care associations joined the work of Girona. New communities were founded in Figueras in 1872, in La Bisbal in 1879, and in Banyoles in 1880. Maria led the congregation with humility and charity until her death, which occurred on March 18, 1884, in Girona.

The reputation of holiness and heroic charity of Maria Rosa Teresa Gay Tibau has been maintained well after her death. The process for her beatification was officially launched in 1984, on the occasion of the centenary of her passing to God. The diocesan inquiry into her life, virtues, and reputation for holiness was opened in Girona on July 26, 1996. After gathering numerous testimonies and historical documents, the inquiry was solemnly closed on May 3, 1998, in the Cathedral of Girona by the diocesan bishop, Mgr. Jaume Camprodon. On July 4, 1998, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the decree of validity for the diocesan inquiry. The Positio, which synthesizes the evidence of the heroic nature of her virtues, was officially published in Rome in 2004.

On December 9, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Maria Rosa Teresa Gay Tibau. By this act, she was declared Venerable, the first official step toward beatification. To this day, Maria Rosa Teresa Gay Tibau retains the status of Venerable. For her beatification to be pronounced, the Church requires the official recognition of a miracle obtained through her intercession. Her liturgical feast is set for March 18, the anniversary of her death.

The charism bequeathed by Maria Rosa Teresa Gay Tibau to her institute is based on the exercise of merciful charity towards the sick and the elderly. Her spiritual and apostolic mission is summarized in her historical motto: "alleviate pain and sow peace" (aliviar el dolor y sembrar la paz) in the hearts of suffering people and their families. Her spirituality is deeply marked by the love of the suffering Christ, an absolute trust in Divine Providence, and a filial devotion to Saint Joseph, a model of humble, silent, and attentive service. After the death of the foundress, the institute received diocesan approval on March 19, 1885, from Msgr. Tomás Sivilla y Gener, Bishop of Girona. The congregation obtained the decree of praise from the Holy See on January 16, 1928, and its religious constitutions were definitively approved by Rome on June 16, 1936. The work of Maria Gay Tibau experienced significant international expansion, establishing itself notably in Colombia in 1922 and in France in 1924. Today, the Religious of Saint Joseph of Girona are present in 12 countries spread across three continents (Europe, Latin America, and Africa), where they manage hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and lead development aid projects. The spiritual legacy of the foundress was also illustrated by the martyrdom of three of her spiritual daughters: Fidela Oller Angelats, Josefa Monrabal Montaner, and Facunda Margenat Roura, religious sisters and nurses of the institute murdered in hatred of the faith during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, and beatified on September 5, 2015, in the Cathedral of Girona.