Josefa Naval Girbés (1820–1893)

Biography

Born in San Jaime de Algemesí, Valencia, Spain, Josefa was orphaned at the age of thirteen. He took care of the housework and his family: his father, three brothers, an uncle and his grandmother. As they left the house or died, Josefa, who remained single, converted her house into a school-workshop, where she taught embroidery to the young girls of the town. The embroidery for the saints of the parish stands out, such as San Vicente Ferrer. Always surrounded by girls and young people, Josefa, “La Señora Pepa”, became the integral teacher of several generations of girls whom she taught to embroider, to run the house, to pray and to live attentive to the needs of her parish and the poor. When he died, his remains were transferred to the parish church among a multitude of clergy and faithful who graced the streets of Algesí. On September 25, 1988, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Josefa Naval, Doña Pepa, blessed, who remains alive in the memory and devotion of her people and her parish.