Rosa Maria Delgado was born on October 7, 1948 — the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary — in San Antonio, Texas, to Ernesto and Consuelo Reyes. She was baptized at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish the following Sunday, and the Blessed Mother was her companion and model for every day of her eighty-seven years. Rosa married Alejandro Delgado on June 29, 1969, at Our Lady of Guadalupe, and together they raised six children in a home where the Rosary was prayed every evening after supper, a crucifix hung above every door, and no one left the table without giving thanks. She was a daily communicant for over fifty years, a member of the Guadalupanas for four decades, and the woman every neighbor called when they needed a meal, a prayer, or someone to sit with them in the dark. For thirty years, Rosa led the children's Rosary group at her parish, teaching hundreds of children to pray with their hands and their hearts. She made tamales every Christmas Eve, kept a candle burning before her home altar, and carried a rosary in her apron pocket until the day she died. Rosa Maria Delgado entered eternal life on August 28, 2026, the Feast of Saint Augustine. She was 87 years old. Her rosary was in her hands.

Hobbies & interests

Praying the Rosary each evening with her family; making tamales and pan dulce for parish feast days; tending her home altar and garden shrine to Our Lady; leading the children's Rosary group; visiting the sick and bringing them the Eucharist; embroidering vestments for the parish

Survived by

Her husband of 57 years, Alejandro Delgado; six children: Father Miguel Delgado (Diocese of San Antonio), Maria Delgado-Flores (Roberto) of San Antonio, TX, Carlos Delgado (Lucia) of Austin, TX, Teresa Delgado-Morales (Juan) of Houston, TX, Ana Delgado-Cruz (Pedro) of San Antonio, TX, and José Delgado (Carmen) of Dallas, TX; twenty-two grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and her sister, Esperanza Reyes-Garza of San Antonio, TX.

Preceded in death by

Her parents, Ernesto and Consuelo Reyes; her brother, Roberto Reyes; and her granddaughter, Rosita Flores.