Irmã Dulce

Dulce de Souza Lopes Pontes, S.M.I.C., widely known as Irmã Dulce (English: "Sister Dulce") and also as Saint Dulce of the Poor (born Maria Rita de Souza Pontes; 26 May 1914 – 13 March 1992), was a Brazilian Catholic member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, who belong to the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. She is known worldwide as an advocate for the poor of her country and was the founder of the Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce ("Charitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce").

In 1949, Pontes started caring for the poorest of the poor in her convent's chicken yard in Salvador, Bahia. 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. She also established CESA, a school for the poor in Simões Filho, one of the most impoverished cities in the state of Bahia.

At the time of her death in 1992, Pontes 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. She was named the most admired woman in the history of Brazil by O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper and the most influential religious person in Brazil during the 20th century, by ISTOÉ magazine.

In 2011, Pontes was beatified with papal approval by Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, the penultimate step toward sainthood. In May 2019, Pope Francis, during an audience given to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Prefect Giovanni Angelo Becciu, recognized a second miracle, which was needed to declare her a saint. She was canonized by Pope Francis on 13 October 2019, making her the first Brazilian female saint.