- The work, created by Navarran artist Diana García Roy, will be located in the Chapel of Saint Joachim in the basilica.
- The event is part of the centenary celebrations of the religious profession of Saint Genoveva Torres, founder of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels, together with other companions (1925–2025).
- Saint Genoveva Torres, founder of the congregation, is one of the great figures of charity in Spain.
The Basilica del Pilar will host the enthronement of a sculpture of Santa Genoveva Torres Morales, created by Navarran artist Diana García Roy, which will be installed inside the temple. Specifically, in the chapel of San Joaquín.
The initiative coincides with the commemoration of the centenary of the religious profession of Saint Genoveva Torres, founder of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels, together with other companions, a congregation founded by the saint.
The presence of Saint Genevieve in one of the most emblematic places of Marian faith in Spain is a recognition of her life, marked by dedication, charity and support for women in solitude.
Saint Genoveva Torres Morales
Santa Genoveva Torres Morales was born in Almenara (Castellón) in 1870. After a difficult childhood and a life full of trials, in 1911 she founded the Angelic Society in Valencia, together with two other women. It was a home designed to welcome and accompany single women who, as she herself wrote: ” They cannot live independently, and the poor suffer and endure many hardships and difficulties living alone.
The first sisters began wearing the habit in 1912, and the work spread rapidly throughout Spain. In 1915, they took private vows, and ten years later, on 18 December 1925, they made their religious profession, the first professions made in the new Congregation. The Angelic Society was established as a diocesan religious institute, with Genoveva Torres as Mother General and its headquarters in Zaragoza.
On 25 March 1953, the Congregation received the Decretum Laudis from Rome, achieving universal pontifical recognition and adopting its current name: Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels.
Saint Genoveva died in Zaragoza on 5 January 1956. She was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1995 and canonised by the same Pope in 2003 in Madrid.
Commemorative events for the centenary of the profession of Saint Genoveva Torres and her companions (1925–2025)
The events will be held at the Residencia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Pza. del Pilar, 22, Zaragoza):
– Wednesday, 17 December
- 5:00 p.m. – Presentation by Mother Enedina Fernández Bueno, Superior General:
“Grateful memory. Returning to our roots to embrace the future.” - 6:30 p.m. – Christmas concert by José María Berdejo, music director of the Cathedrals of Zaragoza
– Thursday, December 18
- 6:00 p.m. – Thanksgiving Mass, presided over by His Excellency and Most Reverend Carlos Escribano Subías, Archbishop of Zaragoza.
- 7:00 p.m. – Wine reception.
A work for devotion and remembrance
The artist Diana García Roy, renowned for her work in contemporary religious sculpture, has created a faithful, expressive, and profound image of the saint, intended to accompany the prayers of the faithful and keep her spiritual and social memory alive in one of the most important Marian shrines in the world.
Who are the Angelic Sisters?
The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels, known as Angelic Religious, continue today the mission begun by Saint Genevieve: to accompany, welcome, and console people—especially women—who are experiencing loneliness.
True to the charism of their founder, the sisters carry out their work through:
- Residences that offer a stable, safe, and supportive home.
- Spiritual and human support, especially for lonely and elderly people.
- Social and pastoral works focused on human dignity and personal attention.
- Missionary presence in various cities in Spain and other countries (Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia), where they keep alive the spirituality of the Sacred Heart and the mission of the Holy Angels.
Además de las residencias para mayores, la congregación colabora en la catequesis, pastoral parroquial, pastoral juvenil y también dirige dos comedores para niños en situación de vulnerabilidad en Venezuela y Colombia.