Maria Gay i Tibau
The story of a vocation born from care
The vocation of Maria Gay i Tibau It stems from daily encounters with suffering. In Girona, after his mother’s death, for about twenty years he lived in contact with sick people, learning to recognize the fragility of others as a call to care.
He thus decides to dedicate his life to those who suffer, accompanying the sick and supporting their families.
The 29 June 1870, Together with Carmen Esteve Andoca, he is holding the first wake-up at home. It is a simple and profoundly innovative gesture: enter people's homes, be close to those who suffer, and transform care into a human and concrete presence.
From this intuition the idea of the’Institute of Religious Women of San Giuseppe of Girona (IRSJG), A community called to bring care where it was most needed, in homes, in hospitals, and alongside those in need.
Maria Gay's vision is surprisingly modern: put the person at the center, transform fragility into relationship, and make care a concrete gesture of humanity.
His legacy is not just a story to be remembered, but a way of being and acting in the present: welcoming, accompanying, caring for, and sowing peace.
One woman, one vision, one mission still relevant today