Caterina Coromina i Agustí

In 1872, Caterina Coromina decided to leave domestic service permanently to dedicate herself fully to her vocation of assisting the sick. She rented a small room on the "Carrer Nou" in Vic and began to care for the sick at home for free. She received spiritual support from Father Costa, a priest of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. On June 29, 1877, she officially founded a small religious community with three companions (including her niece): the Josephine Sisters of Charity (Hermanas Josefinas de la Caridad). The institute's mission was the free home care of the sick and needy elderly. Despite extreme poverty that led her first companions to abandon her, Caterina persevered. On June 24, 1881, she made her first religious vows with her new companions. The institute then experienced rapid growth and expanded throughout Catalonia (Ripoll, Vilassar de Dalt, Manlleu, Torelló, Martorell, Vilanova i la Geltrú). However, starting in 1886, the arrival of new, more educated nuns created tensions. Caterina, who had remained simple and illiterate from the beginning, was gradually removed from the leadership of her own foundation. She accepted this trial with deep humility and resignation, withdrawing into prayer and poverty until her death.

The diocesan process for the cause of beatification of Caterina Coromina i Agustí was opened to examine the heroism of her life and virtues. After a meticulous examination of her writings and testimonies by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing her heroic virtues on April 28, 2006. Since then, she has been declared venerable by the Catholic Church.

Caterina Coromina i Agustí currently holds the status of Venerable. For her beatification to be pronounced, a miracle attributed to her intercession must be formally recognized by the Holy See. Her cause is still active and followed by the postulation of her congregation.

The spirituality of Caterina Coromina is based on concrete charity and total abandonment to Divine Providence. She held a special devotion to the Eucharist, to the Virgin Mary (through the constant recitation of the Rosary), and to Saint Joseph, the patron of her congregation. Her death bears witness to her life of prayer: on July 11, 1893, she passed away in Vic, her body being found by the nurse in a posture of prayer, on her knees with her hands joined. The legacy of the Venerable is perpetuated through the work of the Josephite Sisters of Charity. In addition to their communities in Spain, the sisters have established themselves in Peru and Colombia. In October 2025, the congregation also extended its work to the African continent by opening a new mission in Rwanda, in the diocese of Kabgayi, to care for the sick and train future postulants.