Nhá Chica
beatified Brazilian person
Feast: 14 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Francisca de Paula de Jesus was born at São João del Rei, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1808, the natural daughter of a slave. As a woman and a slave she received no schooling, but learned prayers and devotions from her mother. Moving to Baependi, she was left an orphan.
A laywoman, her simple life was given wholly to God and to charity; she was venerated throughout Brazil as 'mother of the poor', known to all as 'Nhá Chica', Aunt Francisca.
The miracles
She was beatified at Baependi. The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A slave's daughter who became mother of the poor of Brazil.
The cause
Nhá Chica has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Postulation for the cause of Nhá Chica.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Francisca de Paula De Jesus
- Wikidata Q7023400 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Nhá Chica (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.