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Also known as: Paula
Montal Fornes; Paula Montal; Paola Montal; Paola Montal Fornes
Profile
Daughter of Ramon and Vicenta Fornes Montal. Raised in a large and pious
family in a small seaside village. Her father died when Paula was 10 years
old. She worked as a seamstress and lace-maker, and helped raise her
siblings, then helped in her parish with other children.
At age thirty, still single and devoting herself privately to God, she and
her friend Inez Busquets opened a school in Gerona to provide a good
education mixed with spiritual guidance. The school was such a success
that she was able to found a college in May 1842, and another school in
1846. To staff and manage the schools, she founded the Daughters of Mary
(Pious School Sisters) on 2 February 1847, and took the name Paula of
Saint Joseph of Calasanz. Paula served as its leader, and they received
papal approval from Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1860. These schools have now
spread to four continents.
Born: 11 October 1799 at
Arenys de Mar, near Barcelona, Spain
Died: 26 February 1889 at Olesa de Montserrat of natural causes
Beatified: 18 April 1993 by Pope John Paul II at Rome
Canonized: 25 November 2001 by Pope John Paul II
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