María Esperanza de Bianchini

Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini (November 22, 1928 – August 7, 2004), also known as Maria Esperanza, was a Venezuelan mystic, in Barrancas in the State of Monagas near the Orinoco River.

On January 31, 2010, in the (Catholic) Cathedral of St Francis of Assisi in Metuchen, New Jersey, the case for beatification of Maria Esperanza was opened by Bishop Paul Bootkoski of the Diocese of Metuchen, which act gave her the title Servant of God. Maria Esperanza's Marian apparitions were approved at the local level by the bishop,

Life Born on November 22, 1928, in Barrancas, Venezuela, Bianchini was the mother of seven children and grandmother of 20 children. Witnesses claim to have seen her levitating during mass and engaging in bilocation. Her legend also recounts that Maria received the spiritual direction and the mantle of Father Pio,

In 1979 she created the Betania Foundation, a lay movement designed to evangelize, educate and develop society's well-being and family life, and promote social justice. Her family continues the mission of the foundation.