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Today’s missionary hero is an amazing woman who lived in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Her name was Bonifacia Rodríguez y Castro.
Bonifacia was born in Salamanca, Spain on June 6, 1837 into a poor family. Her father was a tailor, and Bonifacia learned the craft from him. After her father died, she set up her own shop in the house and sold rope, lace, and other items that she made. In this way, she was able to help her widowed mother financially and emotionally.
As a young woman, Bonifacia decided she wanted to become a Dominican Sister. However, in October of 1870, she met a Jesuit priest, Fr. Francesc Xavier Butinyá i Hospital and was captured by his vision of helping workers who were part of the new working class created by the Industrial Revolution.
Soon, Bonifacia opened her workshop to young working women. The women socialized and reflected on the various issues of the day. Bonifacia called the gathering space a “Nazareth workshop” after the Holy Family.
With Fr. Butinyá’s help, Bonifacia and five other women from the workshop, one of whom was her own mother, formed the Servants of St. Joseph (S.S.J.) and made religious vows on January 10, 1874.
This new religious community was very novel for its time, for instead of living in a convent, the Sisters lived in the community and made their living doing work like any other working women. As a result of their new approach to religious life, many conservative priests condemned this new order. Additionally, Fr. Butinyá was exiled, and the bishop who initially supported them was transferred to a new diocese.
Unfortunately, the enemies of the new society sewed seeds of discontent among the new community, and soon, Mother Bonifacia found herself isolated and unwelcomed in the very community she had founded.
Fortunately, Mother Bonifacia had deep faith. And although she suffered tremendously, her work continued. She predicted that after her death, the various factions of the community would come together and spread throughout the world.
On July 1, 1901, Pope Leo XIII approved the new Servants of St. Joseph (SSJ).
Mother Bonifacia died on August 8, 1905. And as she predicted, her order became unified in 1907. Today, the Servants of St. Joseph serve in many nations of the world.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Bonifacia in 2011. Her feast day is August 8.
This is a truly inspirational story Father Bob. Thanks!
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