Saint Laura Montoya

Life story

Laura Montoya Upegui was born on 26 May 1874 at Jericó, in the province of Antioquia, Colombia. Her father died in a civil war when she was very small, and the family fell into hardship. She trained as a teacher, taught in several towns and then became head of a private school in Medellín.

She grew more and more concerned for the indigenous peoples of Colombia's forests and mountains, who were often overlooked. In 1914 she set out with a few companions for Dabeiba, where the Emberá people live, and there they founded the Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate and St Catherine of Siena. She asked the sisters to learn the language and customs of the people instead of pressing them into a different way of life.

The new community met many difficulties. It was later formally approved and spread to other parts of Colombia and then to several countries of Latin America. She wrote many letters to the sisters and left an autobiography describing her difficulties and method of work. In her last years she was paralysed and used a wheelchair.

She died in Medellín on 21 October 1949. She was beatified in 2004 and canonised by Pope Francis on 12 May 2013, the first saint of Colombia. She is often called Mother Laura, and her congregation still works with indigenous and rural communities in Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America and beyond. Her feast is kept on 21 October, the day of her death.

Works and witness

• Taught in several towns in Antioquia
• Went with companions to Dabeiba, Emberá country, in 1914
• Founded the Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate and St Catherine of Siena
• Wrote letters and an autobiography on the mission
• First saint of Colombia, canonised in 2013

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter Claver, Saint Louis Bertrand

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
• Laura Montoya, Autobiografía

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.