Laura Montoya

Laura Montoya, born María Laura de Jesús Montoya Upegui (May 26, 1874 – October 21, 1949), also known by her religious name Laura of Saint Catherine of Siena, was a Colombian Roman Catholic religious sister and the founder of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena in 1914. She is celebrated for her significant work with Indigenous peoples and for her influence as a role model for girls throughout South America. Her canonization in 2013 marked her as the first Colombian to be recognized as a saint.

Life and Ministry

Born in Jericó, United States of Colombia, Montoya experienced early hardship when her father was killed during the Colombian Civil War of 1876, leading to family poverty. She was sent to live with her maternal grandmother and later, in 1881, to an orphanage managed by her aunt, a religious sister. Her education at "Normale de Institutoras" of Medellín prepared her to become a school teacher, a profession she pursued to aid her mother's financial difficulties. A desire to become a religious began to form during her youth, particularly after going to live on a farm to care for an ill aunt in 1886. She graduated as a teacher in 1893.

In 1908, Montoya began her dedicated work with Indigenous peoples in the Uraba and Sarare regions, establishing the "Works of the Indians." Driven by a desire to spread the Gospel to unreached communities and to combat racial discrimination, she founded the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and Saint Catherine of Siena on May 14, 1914. She left Medellín with four other women to live among the native Indians in Dabeiba. Despite support from the Bishop of Santa Fe de Antioquia, the new congregation faced criticism.

Montoya passed away on October 21, 1949, in Medellín, Colombia, following a prolonged illness that confined her to a wheelchair for the final nine years of her life.

Sainthood

The process for Montoya's beatification began with her being titled Servant of God in 1976. She was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II on January 22, 1991, recognizing her heroic virtue. The beatification miracle, involving the cure of a woman from uterine cancer in 1994, was approved by Pope John Paul II, who beatified her on April 25, 2004. A second miracle, the healing of Doctor Carlos Eduardo Restrepo from lupus, kidney damage, and muscular degeneration after invoking Montoya's intercession, was approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. Pope Francis canonized her on May 12, 2013, making her the first Colombian saint. At the time of her canonization, Silvia Mónica Correale served as the postulator.