María Encarnación Rosal was a 19th-century Guatemalan nun belonging to the Bethlemite Sisters. Born in Quetzaltenango, she dedicated her life to religious reform and the advancement of women's education and protection. After facing religious persecution in her homeland, she lived in exile, establishing schools and orphanages in Costa Rica and Colombia. She eventually settled in Ecuador, where she founded several convents. Her commitment to her order's original standards led her to establish a new community in her native country before her death following a horseback riding accident.
Religious life
After joining the Bethlemite Sisters in 1838, Rosal eventually served as prioress. Seeking to restore the original standards of her order, she founded a new convent in Quetzaltenango in 1851. Following the expulsion of religious orders by the Guatemalan president, she moved to Costa Rica to open schools for women. Later, in Colombia and Ecuador, she continued her mission by establishing refuges, orphanages, and additional convents.
Veneration
Rosal was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997 in Saint Peter's Square. This recognition followed the validation of a miracle and the confirmation of her heroic virtues. She is remembered as the first female Guatemalan to be beatified. Her remains, located in Pasto, are considered incorrupt by the faithful.