Maria Micaela Desmaisieres

Micaela Desmaisières López de Dicastillo (1 January 1809 – 24 August 1865) - in religion María Micaela of the Blessed Sacrament - was a Spanish Roman Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament. Desmaisières grew up around several European monarchs since her brother - whom she travelled with - was an ambassador to such courts though she later decided to take care of girls and women of a poorer socio-economic background which extended to the care of the ill.

The sainthood cause opened on 19 August 1902 under Pope Leo XIII - she was titled as a Servant of God - while Pope Pius XI named her as Venerable on 11 June 1922. The same pope beatified her in 1925 and canonized her as a saint in 1934.

Life

Micaela Desmaisières López de Dicastillo was born in 1809 in Madrid during the War of Independence to Miguel Desmaisières Flores and Bernarda López de Dicastillo Olmeda; her brother was Diego (1806–55). Her father was a high-ranking officer in the armed forces and her mother was an attendant to Queen Maria Luisa de Parma. Her mother died in her childhood. Her brother's daughter - her niece - was Maria Diega.