Blessed Juana Maria Condesa Lluch was born on March 30, 1862 in Valencia, Spain. She was born into a wealthy and pious family and she received a good education. She was devoted to the Holy Eucharist and Mary as a child and she felt called to serve. As Juana Maria grew up she developed a deep prayer life and felt called to religious life, in particular to help the factory workers who lived in horrible and dehumanizing conditions that were part of the 19th century industrialization.
She wanted to found a religious congregation, but Cardinal Antolin Monescillo, archbishop of Valencia, initially refused; he said she was too young. But then in 1884 she received permission to open a shelter to provide material and spiritual assistance to the factory workers and their families. Then she was able to open a school for their children and other young women wanted to help her in the work. They formed Congregation of the Handmaids of the Immaculate Conception, Protectress of Workers in Valencia, Spain. They are teachers, spiritual directors, and protectors of the poor, especially young working women. The Congregation received diocesan approval in 1892, temporary papal approval on April 14, 1937, and definitive approval on January 27, 1947. She died on January 16, 1916 in Valencia. She was beatified on March 23, 2003.
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