Maria Teresa Bonzel
Roman Catholic German nun (1830–1905)
Feast: 6 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 27 March 2013 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2013)
Who they were
Aline Bonzel was born in Olpe, in Westphalia, Germany, on 17 September 1830. In 1859 she and two companions began a community in Olpe to care for orphans and neglected children, and on 20 July 1863 it was approved as the Sisters of St Francis of Perpetual Adoration, which later spread to the United States. She died in Olpe on 6 February 1905, aged 74.
The miracles
A four-year-old boy — Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
A four-year-old boy in Colorado Springs was cured after prayers for Mother Maria Theresia's intercession. The case was investigated locally in 2001. The sources checked do not describe his illness.
She was beatified in Paderborn Cathedral on 10 November 2013. One more approved miracle is needed for canonisation.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of a four-year-old boy was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 27 March 2013, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 10 November 2013 by Cardinal Angelo Amato, for Pope Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - decree of 27 Mar 2013
- Today's Catholic, Nov 2013 - the beatification in Paderborn
- Wikipedia - Maria Theresia Bonzel
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q1695005 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Maria Theresia Bonzel (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.