Picture: Dulceridentem · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mother Hope of Jesus

Spanish religious nun (1893–1983)

BlessedFull write-upSpain

Feast: 8 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)

Born

30 September 1893

verified

Died

1983

verified

Beatified

—

not on record

Canonised

—

not yet

The Vatican record

5 July 2013 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2013)

Who they were

María Josefa Alhama Valera was born at Santomera, Spain, on 29 or 30 September 1893, the eldest of nine children of a very poor family, and learned to read and write in her parish priest's house. At eight she felt the need to be always with Jesus.

As Mother Speranza of Jesus she founded the Handmaids and the Sons of Merciful Love. Her foundation met opposition from bishops and priests in Spain and struggles within the institute itself; sent to Rome, she worked there as an ordinary sister.

The miracles

The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.

Why that counted as sanctity

A foundress who proclaimed God's merciful love through opposition and humiliation.

The cause

The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.

A miracle approved by the Holy See is needed for the next step. If you know the postulation’s own page, tell us and it will be added here.

Sources

Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Madre Speranza di Gesù
Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
Wikidata Q3966507 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
English Wikipedia — Maria Josefa Alhama y Valera (CC BY-SA)

Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.