Portal:Saints/Selected biography/27

Portrait of Blessed Sister Mary of the Divine Heart, countess of Droste zu Vischering and Mother Superior of the Good Shepherd Convent in Porto, Portugal.

Sister Mary of the Divine Heart (Münster, September 8, 1863 – Porto, June 8, 1899), born Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a person of old German nobility (Uradel) and Roman Catholic nun of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, best known for having influenced Pope Leo XIII to make the consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII himself called this solemn consecration "the greatest act of my pontificate".

In 1964, Sister Mary of the Divine Heart, the countess of Droste zu Vischering, officially received the title of Venerable by the Catholic Church. On November 1, 1975, she was declared blessed by Pope Paul VI.