Benigna Victim of Jesus

Sister Benigna began her apostolate in the various houses of her congregation, distinguishing herself by her tireless dedication to the most destitute. Her first assignment was the Manoel Gonçalves de Souza Moreira Charity House in Itaúna, where she earned her nursing degree. Appointed superior of this institution on January 1, 1943, she founded a maternity ward there intended to welcome and care for needy mothers free of charge. However, her popularity and zeal attracted jealousy and serious calumnies. In 1948, falsely accused of moral misconduct and subversive political opinions, she was transferred under police escort to the São Luiz Asylum in Caeté. In this motherhouse, she underwent a period of semi-detention imposed by her own congregation: isolated from everyone, forbidden from communicating with her family, she was relegated to the harshest household chores, notably the maintenance of the pigsty, and forced to take her meals alone in her room. Despite the extreme harshness of these conditions, which severely affected her health, she endured these humiliations with heroic patience and constant forgiveness. In 1950, she was sent to Lambari as a nurse and midwife at the Asilo-Hospital São Vicente de Paulo, where she provided attentive care to all the sick without distinction. In 1955, she joined the Our Lady of Lourdes College in Lavras. There, she took on humble domestic tasks and tended to the vegetable garden while imparting a deep Marian devotion to the students. She had a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes erected there, which was inaugurated on April 5, 1958. After a stint at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Sabará in 1960, she settled in Belo Horizonte, where she continued her charitable work among the elderly and families in distress. Notably, she had a chapel dedicated to Saint Joseph built there (inaugurated on August 16, 1980) and a new Marian grotto (inaugurated on August 16, 1981). Sister Benigna suffered throughout her life from serious health problems, including obesity and hormonal disorders that earned her mockery regarding her physical appearance, as well as severe heart conditions. She constantly hid her physical and moral suffering behind a joyful humor and deep self-deprecation. Hospitalized in an emergency on October 12, 1981, at the Prontocor Hospital in Belo Horizonte, she died there of cardiac arrest on October 16, 1981, at the age of 74.

Considered a saint during her lifetime by the local population, Sister Benigna saw her reputation for holiness grow rapidly after her death. Her grave at the Bonfim cemetery in Belo Horizonte became a place of intense pilgrimage, particularly every Monday, where the faithful gathered to ask for her intercession and testify to the graces received. Her mortal remains were subsequently transferred to the Our Lady of Pity Novitiate (Recanto Monsenhor Domingos) in Caeté, where a memorial is dedicated to her. Faced with the constant influx of devotees and the numerous testimonies of spiritual and temporal favors attributed to her intercession, the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte officially opened her cause for beatification and canonization on October 15, 2011. The diocesan phase of the inquiry closed in January 2013, and the acts were transmitted to Rome. The Roman phase officially began with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on April 15, 2013.

On February 18, 2022, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Benigna Victime de Jésus, thereby conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The cause is currently ongoing, awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession, an essential step to pave the way for her beatification.

Sister Benigna's spirituality is deeply rooted in the love of the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Piety (Nossa Senhora da Piedade), the patroness of her congregation. Nicknamed by her devotees the "Saint of the Salve Regina," she taught and propagated several prayer practices, notably the "Novena of Fire" (Novena de Fogo), which consists of reciting nine Salve Regina every hour for nine consecutive hours, as well as the novena of ninety Salve Regina. Her religious name, "Victim of Jesus," chosen by spiritual inspiration, summarizes her total offering to the divine will in the midst of trials. Having overcome racism, slander, isolation, and illness through unwavering trust in Providence and a communicative joy, she remains a model of fortitude and fraternal charity. Her legacy is today preserved and disseminated by the Association of Friends of Sister Benigna (AMAIBEN) and by her religious congregation.