Rita Amada de Jesus
Portuguese nun (1848–1913)
Feast: 24 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Rita Lopes de Almeida was born on 5 March 1848 at Ribafeita, in the diocese of Viseu, Portugal, into a very religious family with evening spiritual reading; she was devoted to the Eucharist, Our Lady and St Joseph, and to the Pope in his troubles.
Called to be a missionary to rescue the young from indifference and immorality and to help threatened families, she founded the Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to educate poor and abandoned girls.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A village woman who founded sisters to educate poor girls and protect families.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Rita Amada de Jesus
- Wikidata Q924586 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Rita Lopes de Almeida (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.