María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña, ICDS (30 December 1848 – 10 January 1918) was a Spanish Catholic nun and the founder of the Sisters of the Catechetical Institute.

Her return to her native land saw her continue her work and her commitment to establishing religious and secular movements for others all directed towards active participation and care for poor people.

[3][4] The beatification process commenced on 19 June 1980 and she became titled as a Servant of God while later being named as Venerable in 1992 after her life of heroic virtue was confirmed; Pope John Paul II later beatified her in Saint Peter's Square on 23 March 2003.

At the urging of the Bishop of Madrid Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás she established an organization for the faithful that was a secular one in 1892 and it received government approval in 1893.

The foundress was reelected as the Superior General in 1910 for the order which had opened communities in Rome and in the Americas; she also established a civil association Obra Social Cultural Sopeña - or OSCUS - received government approval.

[4] Sopeña died in 1918 and her remains were interred in Madrid while popular opinion held her as a saint; her order now operates in nations such as Argentina and the Dominican Republic amongst others.

later validated this on 5 February 1999; a medical board of experts later confirmed the healing was a miracle on 9 March 2000 as did a congress of theologians on 23 June 2000 and the cardinal and bishop members of the C.C.S.