Francisco Coll y Guitart (1812–1875)

Biography

His spirit, like that of Christ and that of Saint Dominic de Guzmán, was broad as the world. Moved by the Spirit of God and sent by his superiors, he began to go on a mission and deal with different people from the regions of Catalonia. Bishops and parish priests increasingly requested his pastoral services. The contact with the people, the observation of the social and religious reality, led him to promote with all his might education in the towns, in a very particular way education in the field of women. This led Francis to consider how he could cooperate in the salvation of so many souls who were lost due to ignorance, and the Lord gave him to understand that one of the most appropriate means would be the founding of a congregation or institute whose object was the teaching of the girls of the towns and cities, and thus the congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciata was founded. Despite the difficulties experienced at the beginning, the congregation spread very quickly to different parts of Catalonia, before the death of the founder. Blessed Francisco Coll was the first person beatified by Pope John Paul II, on April 29, 1979.