 Hesselblad is recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations due to her efforts in World War II saving the lives of Jews during the genocide of the Holocaust.Pope John Paul II beatified her on 9 April 2000 and Pope Francis approved her canonization in late 2015; the canonization date was determined on 15 March 2016 and was celebrated on 5 June 2016 in Saint Peter's Square.Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad born on 4 June 1870 as the fifth of thirteen children born to August Robert Hesselblad and Cajsa Petersdotter Dag – Lutheran parents from Fåglavik in Västra Götaland County; she had a brother