Teresa Gallifa Palmarola

The heart of Teresa Gallifa Palmarola's work lies in the foundation of the Congregation of the Servants of the Passion (Siervas de la Pasión). On October 25, 1886, with the authorization of the Bishop of Vic, Msgr. Josep Morgades i Gili, she opened a small apartment in Vic to welcome single or abandoned pregnant women. This first structure took the name of the Asylum of the Visitation. Wishing to expand her work, she then moved to Barcelona. On September 24, 1891, she was joined by her first collaborator, Rosario Burgaya. On July 28, 1893, the work was officially legalized under the name 'Casa Asilo de la Visitación'. On December 8, 1894, Teresa and her first two companions, Rosario Burgaya and Carmen Cararach, pronounced private religious vows. The foundation, however, encountered significant canonical and social obstacles. At the time, Spanish legislation did not authorize single women to practice the profession of midwife (only married women or widows could do so), and the idea of nuns practicing obstetrics aroused the incomprehension of ecclesiastical authorities. In 1903, Cardinal Salvador Casañas, Archbishop of Barcelona, approved the community only as a 'pious union' (Pía Unión del Santo Precursor de Jesús para Señoras Celadoras del Santo Bautismo, llamadas Siervas de la Pasión). He refused to recognize it as an institute of consecrated life, forbidding members from wearing the religious habit or pronouncing public vows. In 1904, he authorized the union for a period of three years, replacing the vows with a simple promise of perseverance. Despite these restrictions, Teresa continued her work with courage. At her death in 1907, the institute had only eight members. However, the community survived and developed. It was recognized as a congregation of diocesan right in 1926, and then received definitive pontifical approval in 1983. Today, the Servants of the Passion continue their mission of defending life through shelters for pregnant mothers, nurseries, and nutritional centers in Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Vigo), Cameroon, and Mexico.

The life of Teresa Gallifa Palmarola is a testimony of heroism in the face of suffering and tireless dedication to the most vulnerable. During her 21 years as a midwife, she personally welcomed more than 2,500 young pregnant women in situations of social exclusion, looking after both their physical health and the baptism of their children. Her health declined severely starting in 1901. Suffering from chronic asthma, heart failure, and bronchitis, she was forced to spend the last months of her life in a wheelchair. In November 1906, albuminuria further aggravated her condition. She faced her illness with deep Christian resignation, frequently repeating: "Lord, thy will be done." She passed away peacefully on March 17, 1907, in Barcelona, at the age of 56.

The beatification process for Teresa Gallifa Palmarola officially opened in 1972, when Cardinal Narcís Jubany, Archbishop of Barcelona, declared her a Servant of God. On June 25, 1996, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her theological and cardinal virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable. Her mortal remains rest today in the chapel of the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Servants of the Passion, located in Barcelona.

The spirituality of the venerable Teresa Gallifa Palmarola is deeply marked by the contemplation of the Passion of Christ and by a filial trust in the Virgin Mary, particularly under the mystery of the Visitation. Her charism rests entirely on the defense of human life from conception, the protection of the dignity of marginalized mothers, and the spiritual regeneration of newborns through the sacrament of baptism. She also left a written legacy intended to guide families and mothers, notably: Advice to married women and mothers of families (Consejos a las casadas y a las madres de familia), published in Barcelona in 1900, and Pious exercises in memory of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the sorrows of His Most Holy Mother (Piadosos ejercicios en memoria de la Pasión de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo y de los dolores de su Santísima Madre), published in Barcelona in 1901. Her work continues today through the social action of the Servants of the Passion, who continue to be the "voice of those who have no voice" by protecting nascent life.