Lindalva Justo de Oliveira was born on 20 October 1953 in Sitio Malhada da Areia, Açu, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, the sixth of thirteen children in a poor but devout Catholic family. As a child and young woman she grew in faith and in sensitivity to the suffering of others, often helping poor children, visiting the sick and elderly, and sharing what little she had. After completing her schooling and working in clerical and retail jobs to support her family, she began to discern a religious vocation, enrolling in nursing classes and participating in the vocational initiatives of the Daughters of Charity.

In 1988 she entered the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul as a postulant and, after professing vows, was sent in 1991 to serve in the Dom Pedro II Home in Salvador, Bahia — a shelter for elderly men. There she embraced the humblest tasks: caring for bodily needs, encouraging spiritual life, singing, praying, and taking residents on outings. She treated every person with dignity, love, and joy, seeing in them the presence of Christ, even as she faced challenges in her own health and in the setting of the home.

On Good Friday, 9 April 1993, Lindalva was carrying out her ordinary service of serving breakfast when a male resident, who had developed an unhealthy obsession toward her, attacked her with a knife after she firmly rejected his advances. Though suffering 44 stab wounds, she cried out, “God protect me,” refusing to abandon the service she loved.