Ignacia del Espíritu Santo
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Venerable Ignacia del Espíritu Santo Juco |
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|---|---|
| Foundress, Religious of the Virgin Mary | |
| Born |
February 1, 1663 (postulated) Recorded date of baptism: (March 4, 1663). Binondo, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Died | September 10, 1748 (aged 85) Intramuros, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz, RVM Motherhouse |
| Feast | September 10, March 4 |
| Attributes | arms crossed in prayer with a rosary, needles, scissors, almsbaskets, dove, Betania retreat house |
| Patronage | Advocate of women's rights, Women's retreat movement |
Venerable Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, also known as Mother Ignacia (1 February 1663 – 10 September 1748) was a Filipino Religious Sister of the Roman Catholic Church.
Known for her acts of piety and religious poverty, founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, the first native Filipino female congregation with approved pontifical status in what is now the Republic of the Philippines.
Mother Ignacia del Espíritu Santo was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.
The birthdate of Mother Ignacia del Espíritu Santo is piously attributed on February 1, 1663, based on the cultural customs of the Spanish Era. Only her baptismal record is preserved, which occurred on March 4, 1663. Ignacia was christened in the long-gone Church of the Holy Kings in the fifth Parián de Chinos by Fray Padre Alberto Collares, O.P.
Ignacia was the eldest and sole surviving child of María Jerónima, a Filipina, and Jusepe Iuco, a Christian Chinese migrant from Amoy, China. Expected by her parents to marry at 21 years old, Ignacia sought religious counsel from Father Pablo Clain, a Jesuit priest from the Kingdom of Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic). The priest gave her the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, from which Ignacia drew her religious devotion and piety. After this period of solitude and prayer, Ignacia finally decided to pursue her religious calling, to "remain in the service of the Divine Majesty” and “live by the sweat of her brow.” According to Father Murillo Velarde, her eyewitness biographer, Ignacia left her parents' home with only a needle and a pair of scissors.
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