Born in Vallecorsa, Italy on February 4, 1805, Maria De Mattias was a pioneer woman of the mid-19th century Church. A champion for the poor, particularly women in rural mountain areas whose lives were bleak, she was a woman dedicated to God and to her "dear neighbor."

Confident in God's strength and possessed of dynamic personality, in 1834 she established the religious congregation that became the Adorers of Blood of Christ. Maria and her first followers began by teaching children and women and by providing religious retreats for women in remote areas.

Maria De Mattias died in Rome on August 20, 1866. On October 1, 1950, she was beatified by Pope Pius XII, and she was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 18, 2003.

Adorers continue to be recognized for their diverse ministries based on the empowerment of people wherever needed. Adorers can be found in classrooms, in homes for the elderly, by the bedside of a hospice patient, in foreign missions building the self-esteem of the poor. They may be found providing shelter and job skills to victims of domestic violence, or serving as advocates of the poor.

An International Community, there are 2,200 sisters in 26 countries, including more than 400 in the United States. Adorers are about bringing "that beautiful order of things which the great Son of God came to establish in His Blood."