Saint Maria Kasper

Mary Catherine Kasper, born Katharina Kasper on May 26, 1820, and died on February 2, 1898, was a German Catholic Religious Sister who founded the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. Despite harboring a desire to become a religious sister from an early age, her entry into the religious life did not materialize until later in life due to personal and historical circumstances. Kasper's poor economic status, the deaths of both her father and brother, and the secularization under Napoleon, which led to the absence of female religious orders in her region, all contributed to this delay. Her dedication to serving the poor was evident throughout her life, and she devoted herself to their service with great zeal. Kasper's canonization process began in the 1940s and culminated in her beatification on April 16, 1978, by Pope Paul VI. On October 14, 2018, Pope Francis confirmed her canonization as a saint.