Saint Joaquina Vedruna de Mas (or Joaquima, in Catalan) (Barcelona, Spain, April 16, 1783 – August 28, 1854) was a Spanish nun, founder of the Carmelite Sisters of the Charity. She was born from a noble family. In 1799, she married the lawyer and Vic's landowner Teodoro de Mas, with whom she had nine children. Her husband died in 1816 and she moved with her children to their estate in Vic. Here, she began her charitable activities with the sick and young women. Her spiritual director, the Capuchin Esteban de Olot, suggested she establish an apostolic congregation devoted to education and charity. The bishop of Vic, Pablo Jesús Corcuera, told her that the institute should be of Carmelite inspiration. The same bishop wrote the rule on February 6, 1826, and on February 26 she and other eight