Teresa Mira García

After her temporary profession, Sister Teresa remained at the Mother House in Tarragona until 1918. She was then sent to Alcalá de Chivert, where she was entrusted with the care and education of young children. She made her perpetual vows there on October 19, 1921, in the college chapel. In 1924, she was transferred to San Jorge, where she spent twelve years of her life, once again dedicating herself to the education of young children. Her apostolate, characterized by immense gentleness and boundless charity, touched many people beyond the school. In 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out while she was in San Jorge. Due to religious persecution and the political situation, the community had to disperse. Sister Teresa was forced into exclaustration and took refuge in Novelda. During these three years of conflict (1936-1939), she showed remarkable courage and serenity. She devoted herself to helping the inhabitants, without distinction of religious beliefs or political opinions, embodying her life motto: "Always do good to all." Her work among the sick and the needy, at the risk of her life, recalled that of the early Christians under persecution. After the end of the war in 1939, she rejoined the community in Novelda. However, her body, exhausted by excessive work, deprivation, and lack of food during the conflict, was struck by tuberculosis. She passed away holily in Novelda on February 26, 1941, at the age of 45.

From the moment of her death, the reputation for holiness of Sister Teresa Mira García spread rapidly among the population of Novelda and the surrounding areas. Her funeral was a spontaneous tribute from the crowd, who already considered her a saint. The faithful immediately began to seek her intercession to obtain graces. Faced with this constant popular fervor, the cause for canonization was officially opened. The diocesan process on the reputation for holiness and virtues was conducted in the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante (opened on October 15, 1985), as well as a rogatory process in Tortosa (begun on February 24, 1984). The documents of the cause were then transmitted to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

On December 17, 1996, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, officially declaring her "Venerable." To this day, she retains this canonical status of Venerable, awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession to open the way for her beatification.

The spirituality of the Venerable Teresa Mira García is deeply rooted in the Palautian charism (transmitted by the founder Francisco Palau y Quer), centered on the mystery of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. She lived her vocation as a Carmelite Missionary of Saint Teresa with evangelical simplicity, constant joy, and universal charity. Her spiritual model was Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, whose "little way" of trust and abandonment to Divine Providence she imitated. Her legacy is summarized in her motto: "Do good to all without looking at whom" (Hacer el bien sin mirar a quién). Today, her memory remains particularly alive in Novelda, where her mortal remains rest in the chapel of the "Santa María Magdalena" school. She is invoked by many faithful throughout the world, notably by expectant mothers in difficulty, people looking for work, and consecrated souls desiring to live evangelical simplicity. Centers and communities bear her name in Spain and other countries (such as the Sister Teresa of Sto. Niño center in Lucena in the Philippines, or presences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo).