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MotherIgnacia del
Espritu Santois a
FilipinoVenerableof
theRoman Catholic
Church. She led a
religious life in 1684 and
the founder of Beaterio
de la Compaa de
Jess, now known as
Congregation of the
Sisters of theReligious
of the Virgin
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Early Life
Ignacia del Espritu Santo was born
on February 1, 1663 and was the
eldest and sole surviving child of
Doa Mara Jernima and Don
Jusepe Iuco, a migrant Chinese
from Amoy, China. She was 21
years old when her parents
wanted her to marry. Wishing to
follow a monastic life though not
wanting to disappoint her parents,
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The priest gave her the Spiritual

Exercises ofSt. Ignatius of
Loyolafrom which Ignacia drew her
religious devotion and piety. After
this period of solitude and prayer,
Ignacia finally decided to pursue a
monastic life and to remain in the
service of the Divine Majesty and to
live by the sweat of her brow.
Legend states that she left her
parent's home with only a needle
and a pair of scissors.
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Religious Life
Ignacia del Espritu Santo began to live alone
in a vacant house located at the back of the
Colegio Jesuita de Manila, the headquarters
of Jesuits in Manila. She devoted a life of
public prayer and labor which attracted other
women to the religious life at a time when
Filipinos could not be allowed into religious
life. Ignacia accepted these women into her
company of other religious women. Though
they were not officially recognized as a
convent at the time, together they became
known as the Beatas de la Compaa de
Jess.
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They frequently received the sacraments

at the Church of St. Ignatius, performed
many acts of public devotion there and
went to the Jesuit priests for spiritual
direction and confession. This penitential
spirituality sustained the other women in
their moments of difficulties especially
during times of extreme poverty, when
they even had to beg for rice and salt and
scour the streets for firewood. The beatas
continued to support themselves by the
labor of their hands and sometimes
received some financial help from pious
people.
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The growing number of beatas called for a

more stable lifestyle and a set of rules. A
daily schedule was drawn up and
community practices were defined. The
association only admitted young girls and
boarders who were taught Christian
doctrine as well as works proper to them.
Ignacia did not make any distinction of
color or race but accepted all women from
all races and walks of life.
In 1726, Ignacia submitted the constitutions
of the Beaterio to the Archdiocesan Office
of Manila for ecclestiastical approval.
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The approval was granted in 1732 by the

Fiscal Provisor of Manila after which Ignacia
decided to give up her responsibility
asSuperiorof the house. She lived as an
ordinary member until her death on
September 10, 1748. King Ferdinand IV of
Spain granted protection civil to the
Congregation on November 25, 1755, a
petition formally sent byArchbishop Arizalaof
Manila to the king two months before her
death. King Ferdinand did not recognize them
officially a convent of religious women. It was
only ordained to remain as a pious association
of faithful women.
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History of Congregation
The Congregation of the Religious of the
Virgin Mary is the oldest and largest Filipino
congregation, founded in 1684 by Ignacia del
Espiritu Santo is the first all-Filipino religious
congregation for women in the Philippines. Its
duties included laboring for the sanctification
of men and women through the Roman
Catholic Church, expansion of Catholic
education for the youth and catechetical
instruction in parishes, as well as fostering
spiritual retreats among lay women,
conducting dormitories, and taking care of the
sick in hospitals.
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In 1732, the Archbishop of Manila approved the

Rules then in use among the other religious
women. Ignacia had the consolation of seeing the
steady growth of her small band of members.
Ignacia del Espritu Santo died on September 10,
1748 at the age of eighty-five. Legend states that
she died on her knees at the communion rail of
the old Jesuit church of St. Ignatius at Intramuros.
On March 17, 1907, Pope Pius X, promulgated the
Decree of Praise in favor of the congregation's
Rules and Constitutions. The Decree of
Approbation was granted by Pope Pius XI on
March 24, 1931. This Decree elevated the
Congregation to Pontifical status. Finally, on
January 12, 1948, the 200th anniversary of the
death of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Pope
Pius XII issued the Decree of Definitive Pontifical
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10
Approbation
of the Constitutions.

Beatification/Canonization
In a decree dated July 6, 2007, Pope
Benedict XVI accepted the findings of
the prefect of the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints and declared that the
Servant of God, Ignacia, foundress of the
Religious of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is
found to possess to a heroic degree the
theological virtues of Faith, Hope and
Charity toward God and neighbor, as well
as the cardinal virtues of Prudence,
Justice, Temperance and Fortitude.
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