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Encarnación Padilla de Armas (c. 1909 - August 1992) was a community leader, organizer, and advocate for the Spanish speaking community in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. She is also considered to be the "first Latina to achieve national leadership" in the Catholic Church.

Early Life
Padilla de Armas was born in Puerto Rico and raised in a Catholic family. Her father assisted the church with missionary work and her mother held a position in the Catholic Daughters of the Americas.

Religious Leadership
Padilla de Armas encouraged the Catholic Church as well as other religious denominations in New York to expand their services to the Puerto Rican population by holding services in Spanish and having Puerto Rican representation in church leadership. In 1951, she organized a group of women to write a report on the religious needs and well being of Puerto Ricans in the city in order to get the attention of the Archdiocese of New York. This report helped form the Spanish Catholic Action office two years after. Later, while working with the First National Hispanic Encuentro (1972), Padilla de Armas educated diocesan priests in Puerto Rican language and culture.