Filomena Ferrer Galcerán

Despite the initial opposition of her parents, particularly her mother, her religious vocation was confirmed by her parish priest. At the end of January 1860, at the age of 19, she entered the monastery of the Immaculada in Valls, belonging to the Order of Minims (founded by Saint Francis of Paola). She took the habit there under the name Sister Filomena de Santa Coloma and made her vows the following year.

Within her community, Sister Filomena led a life of rigorous asceticism and deep contemplation. Her spiritual example and fervor encouraged the community to return to a stricter observance of the Rule of the Order, notably through the return to the practice of poverty (going barefoot) and the recitation of the Divine Office at midnight.

Although she died young, her major work lies in the mystical inspiration for the foundation of a new monastery and an expiatory temple dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in her hometown of Móra d'Ebre. According to her writings, she received precise divine instructions on this subject. Although she did not see the realization of this project in her lifetime, her sister Manuela (also a nun) and the community continued her work. The first stone of the monastery of Móra d'Ebre was laid on November 18, 1883, and the convent was inaugurated on October 5, 1894. The adjacent expiatory temple, the first of its kind in Spain, was consecrated on June 5, 1925.

Sister Filomena died of tuberculosis on August 13, 1868, in Valls, at the age of 27, surrounded by a great reputation for holiness. Very quickly, her life and mystical writings aroused the interest of the faithful and ecclesiastical authorities. The ordinary informative process for her beatification opened in Tarragona in October 1880 and closed in 1887. The writings of the Servant of God were approved by a decree on January 14, 1891. On June 10, 1891, Pope Leo XIII signed the decree for the introduction of her cause in Rome, thereby conferring upon her the title of Venerable according to the custom of the time.

After a long period of suspension, the cause was reactivated in 1981. The Positio on her virtues was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1984. Following the positive examination by the theological consultants and the cardinals, Pope John Paul II officially promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues on September 7, 1989, solemnly confirming her status as Venerable. Her mortal remains, initially interred in the municipal cemetery of Valls, were transferred in 1972 to the church of the Minims monastery in Valls, where they rest next to the presbytery. The cause is currently awaiting the recognition of a miracle to pave the way for her beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Filomena Ferrer is deeply marked by reparatory love towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus, devotion to the Immaculate Conception, and to Saint Michael the Archangel (whom she mystically described as a "triangle of stars" bringing consolation and adoration to Christ). Her spiritual path is that of a "victim soul" offering herself for the Church and identifying with the crucified Christ through a life of penance and humility, faithful to the spirit of Saint Francis of Paola. Her autobiographical writings, letters, and prayers testify to an intense mystical union and a joyful acceptance of suffering as a path of purification and salvation for souls.