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The Blessed Irmã (Sister) Dulce Pontes, S.M.I.C., (26 May 1914 – 13 March 1992) was a Brazilian Catholic Franciscan Sister who was the founder of the Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce also known as the Charitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce. Her work with the poor population in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, has made her a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic Church. On 22 May 2011, she was beatified with papal approval by Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo. She was recently named the most admired woman in the history of Brazil by Estado de São Paulo newspaper and the most influential religious person in Brazil, during the 20th century, by "Isto É" magazine.〔(O Brasileiro do Século )〕 In 1949, she started caring for the poorest of the poor in her convent's chicken yard.〔('Brazil's Mother Teresa' edges to sainthood )〕 Today, more than 3,000 people arrive every day at this same site (where the Santo Antônio Hospital now stands) to receive free medical treatment. Sister Dulce also established CESA, a school for the poor in Simões Filho, one of the most impoverished cities in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador and in the State of Bahia. At the time of her death in 1992, Sister Dulce had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, she had received two personal audiences with Pope John Paul II, and she had, almost single-handedly, created one of the largest and most respected philanthropic organizations in Brazil. == Early life == Born in Salvador, Bahia, the second daughter of Augusto Lopes Pontes and Dulce Maria de Souza, as Maria Rita de Souza Pontes, she entered religious life when she was 18 years old. When she was thirteen years old, her aunt had taken her on a trip to the poor area of the city. The sight of the misery and poverty she encountered there made a deep impression on the young girl, who came from an upper middle-class background. She began to care for the homeless and beggars in her neighborhood, giving them free haircuts and treating their wounds. By that time, she had already shown interest in following religious life. Her father, however, did not like the idea and insisted that she became a teacher . 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Irmã Dulce Pontes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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