Librada Orozco Santa Cruz

In 1884, touched by the distress of marginalized women, she began to offer them shelter. With the support of Father Pascual Antonio del Niño Jesús Avelar and the Archbishop of Guadalajara, she officially founded the Congregation of the Franciscan Religious of Our Lady of Refuge on May 7, 1897. Having become Superior General under the name María Librada del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, she dedicated the institute to the reception, rehabilitation, and education of vulnerable women and young girls.

María Librada passed away on March 20, 1926, in Zapopan. Her reputation for holiness led the Archdiocese of Guadalajara to open her cause for beatification. The nihil obstat decree was obtained on June 16, 1983, followed by the opening of the diocesan inquiry on January 27, 1984. This inquiry was closed on June 30, 1986, and its validity was promulgated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on July 3, 1987.

On December 18, 2000, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, conferring upon her the title of Venerable. The diocesan inquiry into an unexplained healing attributed to her intercession was validated on September 24, 1993, and its examination is still ongoing at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The spirituality of María Librada is Eucharistic, Marian, and Franciscan, marked by an absolute trust in Divine Providence. Her work continues today through the Franciscan Religious of Our Lady of Refuge, an institute of pontifical right since 1962, active in Mexico, the United States, Peru, and Italy. Her spiritual influence has also borne fruit through her niece, Saint María Guadalupe García Zavala, canonized in 2013.