Rosario Gutiérrez Sancho

Rosario Gutiérrez Sancho was born in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Spain, on 12 April 1937. She was the eldest of ten siblings.

Having shown great intellectual curiosity from a young age, she was awarded a scholarship to study pharmacy at the University of Granada where she met her future husband, Fernando Sendra, whom she married in 1962. They had two daughters.

She pursued her professional career as a municipal pharmaceutical inspector and as the owner of a pharmacy in a village in the province of Córdoba. She trained in clinical analysis and nutrition, fields which complemented her professional practice.

Following her retirement and having become a widow, she devoted her time to volunteering for charitable causes and took part in projects run by the Teresian Association, such as the TA ‘Thought and Culture’ team in Andalucia, and she coordinated the InteRed committee in Córdoba for several years. She also participated in the Missions Delegation of the Diocese of Córdoba. In 2009, she was honoured by Córdoba City Council, which named her, alongside others, as a ‘Human Heritage of the city’.

In June 2005, she made her commitment as a member of ACIT and remained actively involved in the life of her association and the TA in Córdoba until just a few days before her death on 29 January 2024.

A fruitful life

The ACIT Western Andalusia and Extremadura Association has shared the following:

‘She was a woman who pushed boundaries, with a mind open to the signs of the times, and an enormous capacity to welcome and learn from every person and experience that life brought her way; always ready to learn and bring out the best in everyone; a champion of the most disadvantaged, creating opportunities for all those around her who needed them.’

‘Charo’s was a fruitful life, marked by committed dedication and an infectious vitality that she knew how to pass on to all those around her; a true example of a woman who was a fighter, committed, devoted and passionate…’

‘We all remember Charo as a woman of the people; approachable, profound, devoted, attentive; always ready to give her very best. She lived life to the full, savouring every moment it offered her.’

‘As members of the same ACIT group, I am grateful for the good fortune of having been able to grow alongside her in family life, in faith and in our commitment. Right up until her final day, she was an example to our group of faith made real, sustained by the power of prayer.’

A woman of faith

At her funeral Mass, her daughters paid tribute to her life and highlighted her values, describing her as:

• A woman of faith, a member of the Teresian Association, who loved to attend Mass every day. She lived out her faith with a commitment to transforming society, acting as salt and light in her family and professional life…
• A woman of great scientific, cultural and social curiosity, she never ceased to learn, broadening the scope of her professional practice, venturing into new fields such as ecology and the solidarity economy; participating in cultural associations; and deepening her Christian experience and learning through reading and seminars. She travelled to various parts of Europe and Africa to engage with new peoples and cultures.
• A free and courageous woman, a trailblazer who broke down gender and class stereotypes, a pioneer in the defence of equality, unconcerned with ‘what people might say’…
• A woman deeply concerned about the well-being and happiness of others; generous towards her family and anyone in need; generous with her possessions, her time and her knowledge. Her home was always open, even to strangers, whenever hospitality was needed.
• Committed, active and bearing witness…

With gratitude, we wish to cherish the memory of this ‘saint next door’, this ‘good woman’ who has sown so much goodness around her and who, with such love, has embodied the ideals of the Teresian vocation.