A Christian childhood
Maria Güell y Puig was born in Valls (Tarragona, Spain) on 24 June 1848. She grew up in a deeply Christian family, in which faith, simplicity, work, and peace shaped daily life. Her parents, Francisco Güell and Antonia Puig, gave her the first example of a life centered on God, and from childhood she received the sacraments and learned to live with a sincere love for the Lord and for the Virgin Mary.
A heart open to God
From a very young age, Maria Güell showed a deep spiritual sensitivity. She received Christian formation in Valls, nourished her faith through prayer, and cultivated a special devotion to Our Lady. She was known for praying the Rosary and the Angelus fervently, and for encouraging others to draw close to Mary. Little by little, the desire to give herself totally to God took root in her heart.
A life given to charity
On 24 April 1872 she entered the religious community of charity that served at the Hospital of Cervera, in the Diocese of Solsona. There she lived her consecration through prayer, service, and the care of the sick. In 1884 she was appointed superior of the community. Over the years, guided by the Holy Spirit, she came to understand that God was calling her to something broader: a religious institute dedicated to evangelical charity lived with simplicity and humility.
The foundation of the Institute
On 14 September 1899 she founded the Institute of the Missionary Daughters of the Heart of Mary. What had begun in the humble service of the hospital opened up into a broader mission of charity, attentive to the needs of the Church and of the world. Her desire was not only to organize works, but to form hearts shaped by the Gospel, capable of serving with humility, tenderness, and faith.
Her death and her legacy
Mother Maria Güell y Puig died peacefully on 14 June 1921, after a brief illness, happy to have consecrated her life to God and to charity. The witness of her life remained alive in the memory of those who had known her and in the Congregation she had founded. On 6 April 1998, Pope Saint John Paul II declared her Venerable, recognizing the heroic witness of her Christian virtues.
Her spirit remains alive
The charism she handed on continues to guide the Missionary Daughters of the Heart of Mary today: to follow Christ along the path of the evangelical counsels, living the Gospel in the exercise of charity with simplicity and humility, in the light and example of the Virgin Mary. Her life remains a call to trust in God, to serve with love, and to make charity the heart of mission.