FRANCESCA RIBAS RODRÍGUEZ

Photograph by Rodríguez,  Juantxu. 1988. Españoles en USA. Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP)

Francesca Ribas studied in Barcelona where she obtained a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 1956.

During the years following the Spanish Civil War, she worked as a laboratory assistant at the Sanatorium of Puig d’Olena with Dr. Francesc Ribas i Soberano.

In Houston, Texas from 1972 to 2000, she conducted the labwork in the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, where she collaborated on many cardiovalcular projects and published several research papers.

In 1979 she co-founded (with husband, Dr. David Cardus) AICS, (American Institute for Catalan Studies) in Houston, Texas, the first social and cultural organization in the United States dedicated to the promotion of the Catalan language and culture. She was a member of the AICS Board of Directors from 1984 to 2004 where she held the position of Treasurer and Event Manager.

In November 2004 she was awarded the Batista i Roca Prize, an annual award given by the Institute for the External Projection of Catalan Culture (IPECC) to recognize the work carried out by Catalans and Catalanophiles living abroad and working to maintain a Catalan presence in the world and increase the awareness of Catalonia and its culture. 

Francesca Ribas Rodriguez was born in Barcelona on October 19, 1924, daughter of  Dr. Francesc Ribas i Soberano (1893-1965) and Maria Lluisa Rodriguez i Freixes (1894-1970).

Her father Dr. Francesc Ribas, a great catalan humanitarian physician, member of the Parliament of Catalonia and personal physician of President Lluís Companys, instilled in his daughter a great love for science and their native land, Catalonia.

In 1937 she left for France with her family and lived for some years in the Pyrenees where they helped hide and gave safe passage to  Catalans, Jews and those persecuted by Nazis. It was a time of many emotions and challenges and this accelerated the maturity of young Francesca. She would forever hold on to those memories.

Francesca struggled upon her return to Catalonia where she had to learn Spanish and condense 4 years of Highschool into one year, however, this proved to be a decisive challenge which would help her in future endeavours.  Within a few years, despite having to study under the harsh Franco dictatorship, and at a time when few women were pursuing higher education, she finished her Doctoral degree in Pharmaceutics and Chemistry. 

In France she met Dr. David Cardus, who would later become her husband and with whom she had four children, seven grandchildren and a great-grandson. They coincided in their philosophy of life,  sharing the love of science, family and cultural heritage. This enabled them to establish their life and vocational dreams, without loosing sight of their origin, identity and traditions.

Despite having lived in France for nine years and forty-three years in the United States, her love for Catalonia remained alive and vibrant over her lifetime.

Her devotion culminated in the co-founding and 30 years of service to the American Institute for Catalan Studies in Houston, Texas.

Francesca passed away in Houston on March 19, 2013 at the age of 88.

She will always be remembered for her joy, sense of humor, simplicity, generosity and above all, her great love of Catalonia with the hope of seeing her country become independent again, during her lifetime.

With the strength and curiosity of her gaze, as well as the fire and sweetness of her smile, she will continue to be an inspiration to  those whose lives she touched and those who will follow in the future.