María Elisea Oliver Molina

Attracted to the consecrated life, Josefa entered the Tertiary Carmelites of Alcantarilla in 1888, where she received the habit and the name Sister Provvidenza. After two years, she returned temporarily to her family. In 1890, she decided to join another Carmelite institute in Palma de Mallorca. During her journey, while passing through Caudete, she met her former companions from Alcantarilla and chose to stay with them. On March 6, 1891, the group officially founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Josefa received the name Sister María Elisea there. On February 25, 1892, she was appointed mistress of novices. In 1899, the community transferred its motherhouse to Orihuela. In September 1904, she was elected superior general, a position she would hold until 1922. Under her leadership, the congregation was affiliated with the Order of Carmel on June 28, 1906. After serving as local superior in Granada and Barcelona, she was again elected superior general in 1928. She led the institute until her death, which occurred on December 17, 1931, in Orihuela.

After the death of Mother María Elisea, her reputation for holiness prompted her successor, Mother Josefa Albert Vidal, to initiate steps toward her canonization as early as 1947. The diocesan process was officially opened in the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante on January 14, 1990, and concluded on June 14, 1992. The documents were then transmitted to Rome. The Positio on her heroic virtues was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in June 2001. After examination by theologians in 2014, the cardinals and bishops voted favorably on June 7, 2016.

On June 14, 2016, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God María Elisea Oliver Molina. By this act, she was declared Venerable, an essential step on the path to beatification, which now requires the recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession.

The spirituality of Mother María Elisea Oliver Molina is based on "evangelical simplicity," contemplative prayer, and absolute trust in Divine Providence. Inspired by the Carmelite tradition and the figure of the prophet Elijah, she shaped a charism combining contemplation and active service to the most destitute. Her legacy is characterized by a preferential option for the poor and the marginalized, summarized by her famous motto: "Lleguemos nosotras allí donde otros no pueden llegar" (Let us arrive where others cannot arrive). The Sisters of the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel continue her work today throughout the world (notably in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Burundi, Rwanda, Indonesia, and East Timor), working in education, the care of the sick, the accompaniment of the elderly, and aid to the most needy.