Cayetana Alberta Giménez Adrover

In 1870, the Real Colegio de la Pureza de María Santísima (founded in Palma in 1809 by Bishop Bernardo Nadal) was going through a deep crisis, marked by financial bankruptcy and a decline in its reputation. Faced with this situation, the Bishop of Mallorca, Mgr. Miguel Salvá, and the Mayor of Palma requested Alberta Giménez to take over the management of the institution. On April 23, 1870, Alberta entered the college and immediately set to work on its pedagogical and moral reorganization. Appointed rector on May 1, 1870, she demonstrated exceptional talent as an educator. To meet legal requirements, she prepared for and obtained her diploma as a "Maestra Superior" in Barcelona in March 1872. That same year, the first Normal School for Teachers of the Balearic Islands (Escuela Normal de Maestras de Baleares) was established within the college, and Alberta assumed its direction for forty years. In order to perpetuate this educational work, Alberta decided to transform the group of teachers into a religious community. On September 19, 1874, with the approval of Mgr. Salvá and the collaboration of Canon Tomás Rullán, the first community of the Religious of the Purity of Mary (Religiosas de la Pureza de María Santísima) was officially constituted. Under her leadership as Superior General, the congregation grew and opened new schools. The institute received diocesan approval on August 2, 1892, and then pontifical approval (decree of pontifical right) on May 10, 1901, under the pontificate of Leo XIII. In 1912, following a ministerial decree, the direction of the Normal School was withdrawn from her. In August 1916, weakened by age and a progressive loss of sight, she submitted her resignation from her position as Superior General. She spent her final years in prayer and contemplation at the motherhouse in Palma de Mallorca, where she passed away on December 21, 1922, at the age of 85.

The reputation of holiness of Mother Alberta, both for her personal virtues and for her dedication to Christian education and the advancement of women, led to the opening of her cause for beatification and canonization in the Diocese of Mallorca. The diocesan informative process was introduced, followed by the examination of her numerous writings. The apostolic process took place in the 1960s (from 1960 to 1963). The validity of the processes was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1981, paving the way for the drafting and publication of the Positio on her heroic virtues that same year.

On March 22, 1986, Pope John Paul II authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable. For her beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle is required. An unexplained healing that occurred through her intercession was the subject of a diocesan inquiry and was examined by the medical commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2004. The cause is still under investigation by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The spirituality of the Venerable Alberta Giménez is deeply Christocentric and Marian, centered on the mystery of the Purity of the Virgin Mary, which she proposed as a model of transparency, dignity, and self-giving. Her life was guided by an absolute trust in Divine Providence, summarized by one of her favorite maxims: "Not a leaf falls from a tree without the will of God" (No cae la hoja del árbol sin la voluntad de Dios). A pioneer of women's education at the end of the 19th century, she introduced modern pedagogical methods, favoring an integral formation of the person (combining sciences, arts, physical education, and spiritual formation). Today, the Congregation of the Religious of the Purity of Mary continues her work on three continents (Europe, America, Africa). The sisters manage numerous colleges, university residences, and social works in Spain, Italy (Rome), Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Palma de Mallorca, the Alberta Giménez Higher Education Center (CESAG), affiliated with the Pontifical University of Comillas, directly perpetuates the legacy of the Normal School she founded.