December 10, 2024
— Blessed Maria Emilia Riquelme y Zayas
The Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament & Mary Immaculate began in Spain in 1896 and have been in the Diocese of Bridgeport almost 65 years, working with children and students from different parishes and offering retreats to adults.
In 1960, three sisters came to Bridgeport to serve the growing Spanish community, and they lived in a house on Pine Street, working with Our Lady of Providence Church.
“Mother General always wanted to come to the United States when the order started to do missionary work,” Mother Anna said. First, they went to Brazil, and then Mother Carmen came to America and stayed in Albany as she began to search for the right location.
“It was God’s doing,” she said. “One of the sisters suggested Bridgeport, and Mother fell in love with it, and then Bishop Walter Curtis offered us the house.”
And with them came Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and a commitment to Eucharistic adoration. Their foundress, Blessed Maria Emilia Riquelme y Zayas, often said, “The Eucharist is paradise on Earth. Adoration is my hour of Heaven, my recreation and spiritual rest.”
Her followers share that vision of bringing Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to others through adoration and working as missionaries in a world that has lost faith.
They encourage Eucharistic adoration among children under their care and others because they believe that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds all the answers to life’s problems.
Today, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Maria Emilia Riquelme y Zayas, whose work continues in the Diocese of Bridgeport.
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