Sister Lindalva Justo de Oliveira was the first woman beatified in Brazil. As a young Daughter of Charity, she selflessly cared for the elderly poor with gentleness and faith. On Good Friday in 1993, she was brutally murdered by a man after refusing his advances. Her faithful life of service and martyrdom inspired over 60,000 people to attend her beatification in 2007, making her a model of charity, humility and faith.

1. BlessedLindalvaJustodeOliveira

2. BlessedLindalva
Sister Lindalva was the
fi
rst woman to
be beati
fi
ed in Brazil. She was still a
young Daughter of Charity, 4 years
vocation, when she was martyred.
Her
fi
delity to her vocation and her
love for everyone without preferences
were so intense that she didn’t
hesitate to give her life for them.

3. GentleandHumble
Sister Lindalva loved the elderly
people in her care with a gentle and
humble heart: in a spirit of faith, she
saw them as her lords and masters: “I
ask God to give us his wisdom and
gentleness to serve well our masters,
those who are poor.” She understood
her vocation as a response to God’s
will: “When God calls, no one can hide
from this call. Sooner or later, God’s
will is accomplished.”

4. Herfaith
Her faith was expressed by a simple and
complete adherence to life’s events, which
she welcomed as a gift and call from God:
“Each day of our life should be a day of
renewal and thanksgiving to God for the gift
of life and the call to follow his Son, Jesus
Christ, in serving Him in persons who are
poor.” Her generosity of heart enabled her to
overcome all di
ffi
culties: “In my prayer, I
continually feel so great a desire to love our
good God that I am sure I will reach that
point even if it takes me to the last day of my
life to do it.”

5. Supportedherpeers
She knew how to share her faith with
other young people and to support
her companions when di
ffi
culties
overwhelmed them: “When our hearts
are troubled by doubts about our
vocation, we should give ourselves
entirely to God.”

6. TheCross
“We will come to know God’s love by
carrying the Cross.” These words
spoken by Sister Lindalva herself have
taken on a prophetic meaning.

7. ServantofthePoor
Energetic, always smiling and
available, Sister Lindalva radiated the
presence of God; she lived her
vocation as a servant of the poor in a
spirit of justice inspired by love: she
loved each person without favoritism
or discrimination.

8. WayoftheCross
On Good Friday, April 9th, 1993,
Sister Lindalva made the Way of the
Cross, together with the Sisters of her
local community, at a dawn service
with the parishioners. The Cross is
the ultimate sign of love given for
another person: “Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they
do” (Lk. 23:34).

9. Death
When she came back to the house,
Sister Lindalva prepared breakfast for
the residents as she did each day. As
she began her work, she was brutally
murdered by a sick, 46-year-old man
who was in a violent rage: he could
not accept that she had refused his
unwanted advances.
Building where Sister was murdered

10. Witness
This Daughter of Charity certainly
did not expect to die at such a young
age. Having o
ff
ered her life, she gave
witness by her death that “No one has
greater love than this to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13).
“Blessed Lindalva Justo de Oliveira - Daughter of Charity -
On the Road to Canonization”

11. Beati
f
ication
December 2, 2007
The process of beati
fi
cation was started
by popular acclamation (a spontaneous,
genuine and broadly held expression of
approval among the faithful that one is
in heaven either through an active
martyrdom or because of living life in a
heroic manner). The people were
touched by this young Sister’s faith, her
service of the poor and
fi
delity to her
commitment that ultimately led to her
martyrdom.

12. Beati
f
ication
December 2, 2007
The beati
fi
cation took place in Salvador – Bahia, Brazil, on December 2nd 2007,
in a huge stadium with nearly 60,000 people present.

13. D
a
ughters of Ch
a
rity Intern
a
tion
a
l website:
https://www.
f
illes-de-l
a
-ch
a
rite.org/en/personn
a
lites/s
a
int-
a
nd-blessed-
d
a
ughters-of-ch
a
rity/blessed-lind
a
lv
a
-justo-de-oliveir
a
/
Im
a
ges: Dep
a
ul Im
a
ge Archive, @Fillesdel
a
ch
a
rite YouTube
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