María Benita Arias

It was during her three decades at the House of Exercises that María Benita received the spiritual inspiration to found a new religious congregation. Her project was twofold: to establish perpetual adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist and to dedicate herself to the service of society, in particular to the reception and education of orphaned and abandoned young girls. Faced with initial difficulties in realizing this work in Argentina, she decided to seek support in Europe. In July 1870, encouraged by the Apostolic Delegate Mgr. Marino Marini, she undertook a pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. In Rome, she was received in an audience by Pope Pius IX, who strongly encouraged her and approved the name of her future congregation: the Servants of Jesus-Sacrament (Siervas de Jesús Sacramentado). Upon her return to Argentina, she obtained on November 9, 1872, the authorization of the Vicar Capitular of Buenos Aires, Mgr. Federico Aneiros, to begin her foundation. She first settled near the Carmen chapel in Buenos Aires. With her first companions, she opened a free school for poor girls, the Carmen Orphanage (Orfanato del Carmen), and the House of Jesus (Casa de Jesús). On October 9, 1875, the future religious, gathered in chapter, elected María Benita as superior. The Institute of the Servants of Jesus-Sacrament was officially and canonically erected at the diocesan level on November 21, 1876. Under her leadership, the congregation developed rapidly, combining Eucharistic contemplation with works of charity, education, and social assistance. She exercised her office as Superior General with humility and devotion until her death in 1894.

The reputation for holiness of Mother María Benita Arias was maintained well after her death, prompting the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires to introduce her cause for beatification. The diocesan informative process was opened in 1937 and closed in 1940. The decree on her writings was signed on April 7, 1972. The validity of the diocesan inquiry was officially recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on May 2, 1998. The Positio, a summary document on her life and virtues, was published in 1999.

On January 27, 2014, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of María Benita Arias. By this act, she was officially declared Venerable. For her beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession is required.

The spirituality of the Venerable María Benita Arias rests on the intimate union between the Eucharist and the service of the poor. She spent long hours in adoration before the tabernacle, drawing from it the strength necessary to accomplish her works of charity. She loved to repeat to her sisters: "Do all the good possible" (Hagan todo el bien posible) and wished for their work to remain humble and discreet, affirming: "I want our work to be like the violet, hidden and humble." Today, the legacy of Mother Benita is perpetuated through the Servants of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The congregation, which received definitive pontifical approval on April 4, 1928, continues its apostolic mission in several countries: in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Spain. The sisters manage schools, hospitals, orphanages, daycares, and houses for spiritual exercises there. Her mortal remains rest in the crypt of the Eucharistic Sanctuary of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (Santuario Jesús Sacramentado) in Buenos Aires, a temple whose construction she had initiated herself and where she had expressed the wish to be buried.