King Felipe VI is celebrating five years since he was named Spanish monarch. And this Wednesday, June 19, he wanted to celebrate it by awarding the Medal of Civil Merit to anonymous people who are building a better Spain. One of those people is Sister Mónica, a Daughter of Charity who is a missionary in Haiti.

Los Reyes, la Princesa de Asturias y la Infanta Sofía, con las personas condecoradas con la Orden del Mérito Civil en el Palacio Real. #MéritoCivil https://t.co/QOBvavkWUL… pic.twitter.com/qXOiEew4qw

— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) June 19, 2019

“We are very proud of Sister Monica,” said Sr. Concepción Monjas, the Provincial Councilor for Education of the Company. “She is not only her partner, but also a friend.” She relates that Sister Monica is “a beautiful person and a young enthusiast.”

“She felt the call to be a missionary.” So she decided to travel to Haiti. Specifically, she has been working in Cite Soleil, one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. In fact, the 51-year-old Catalan missionary, Isa Solá, was murdered very close to this place.

It was there where, in 2018, she met Spanish Queen Letizia on her visit to the country. “She saw what the Daughters of Charity do in that neighborhood and she was very impressed: to see how a Spanish Daughter of Charity was doing such a beautiful task with the children, with the sick…”

Una vida totalmente entregada a los Pobres, que hoy es reconocida por el Rey Felipe VI
Las Hijas de la Caridad agradecemos su distinción y reconocimiento pic.twitter.com/kj68BKdbXZ

— Hijas de la Caridad (@hijascaridadsv) June 19, 2019

“The impression was so great that, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the appointment of King Felipe VI, she received the invitation to be one of the Spanish winners for collaborating to make Spain a brand of solidarity”, and adds that “it is much more than a brand of solidarity, it is an evangelizing task, of dedication and of giving one’s life for the poor.”

“She is very excited,” says her companion, Sr. Concepción. “She is receiving recognition not in a personal capacity, but — as she always says — she receives it because she is a Daughter of Charity. It is an award that all sisters receive.”

Source: https://www.cope.es/