A saint for our times ......... Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus

By ANGELA BLARDONY URETA

August 7, 2010, 10:28am

The six pioneering Hijas de Jesus from Spain who arrived in Iloilo in 1932, seen here with Bishop Macloskey and Monsignor Guanco.

Being a nation obsessed with soap operas, any Filipino would agree that Juanita’s early life was the stuff teleseryes are made of.

She was the eldest of seven daughters, three of whom died in childhood. Their father was a weaver who could no longer make ends meet because machines and factories started taking over his craft. As a teenager, Juanita had to leave her village to work in the big city — but what decent jobs were available for an unschooled barrio lass who could hardly read or write?

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Like many others before her, Juanita worked as a domestic helper in the home of a wealthy family. She did her chores diligently and in good cheer, even when the children were mischievous or the grownups made fun of her provincial accent. For many years, Juanita lived this way — a simple, hidden and uneventful existence, nameless and faceless in the multitude.

SECRET LIFE

Unknown to many, however, Juanita had a “secret life” — she was devoted to prayer and piety. Everyday, she attended mass at dawn and prayed deep into the night. What meager income she made was divided between her family and the beggars that lined the city streets. When her money ran out, she would give them her own food. She preached to the other maids while they rested by the balcony. She did this without pride or pretension, only with a burning desire to bring God’s love to those who needed it most.

Perhaps the elements of this interesting tale seem all too familiar to us, living in a country with a high percentage of poverty and illiteracy, where young people are forced to work and many women leave their families to serve in other people’s homes. It’s a tale we’ve repeatedly heard before.

Or so we think. Because this particular story happened over a hundred years ago in 19th century Spain — and in a few months, the Catholic Church is poised to declare our heroine Juanita, now known as Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus, a true saint for our times.

HANDPICKED BY GOD

Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola was born on May 31, 1845 in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa. At 17, she moved to Castille to work for the rich Sabater family in the city of Burgos. In 1869, the hand of Providence reached out to pluck her out of obscurity and make her a shining example to all. On Good Friday, April 2, 1869, while praying in her favorite Rosarillo chapel, Juanita’s life changed irreversibly. She clearly heard the Blessed Virgin speak to her and ask her “to found a Congregation under the name Hijas de Jesus (Daughters of Jesus), dedicated to the salvation of souls through the education and instruction of children and youth”. She sought the help of her spiritual director, a Jesuit named Father Miguel Herranz, who immediately affirmed the message, having had a vision of his own.

Without delay, they worked to address the initial challenge posed by their mission: the would-be foundress of a teaching congregation could barely read or write!

Under Fr Herranz’s patient mentoring, Juanita — who later received the religious name Candida Maria de Jesus — not only became adept in the three R’s, she also left as her legacy a congregation of religious educators now present in 17 countries all over the world, including the Philippines.

This year, on October 17, Blessed Candida will be among the six new saints of the Catholic Church. As expected, Hijas de Jesus communities all over the globe are euphoric over preparations, particularly for this year’s worldwide celebration of Mother Foundress Day tomorrow, Aug. 9.

EDUCATIONAL MISSION

In the Philippines, the first Hijas de Jesus arrived in 1932 — six Spanish nuns who established their first school for girls in Pototan, Iloilo. Today, the congregation runs nine schools across the country: Manresa School in Paranaque; Nazareth School in Sampaloc; St Joseph High School in Guimaras; Hijas de Jesus School in Estancia; Colegio de Inmaculada Concepcion in Pototan; St James Catholic High School in Maasin; Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus in Iloilo City; Sacred Heart High School in Cebu, and Stella Maris Academy in Davao. Altogether, they work for the academic and spiritual formation of over 15,000 Filipino youth and children in the current school year alone.

“From the foundation of the Hijas de Jesus, Mother Candida has always linked her educational action to the mission of the Church,” explains Sr. Emelinda “Lynn” Falsis FI, directress and principal of Manresa School. “For her, ‘to serve God our Lord’ is made concrete through the service in the Church. Her earnest desire — to help her neighbors and to save souls — finds its channel in the Christian education of children and youth. For us sisters, this means readiness to respond to the needs of the Church in the field of education, in any part of the world, in impartial and universal service.”

Sr. Lynn, who entered the congregation in 1986, avers that it was the welcoming attitude of the Sisters and their mission of evangelization that attracted her to become a Daughter of Jesus. “As I got to know them better and learned to love Mother Foundress, I got attracted to her deepest dream which God placed in her heart — that is, to build a world that is more humane and just, where God is Father and all of us are brothers and sisters. I want to collaborate with the other Hijas de Jesus in making that dream come true.”

She adds that Blessed Candida’s spirit and inspiration continues to be felt in the instructional methods and activities that are always in the light of the schools’ mission-vision: seeing to it that the gospel values are integrated, deepened and lived by the students as they encounter learning activities and opportunities that would have a connection and meaning in their daily life experiences.

The congregation also establishes communities in poverty-stricken areas where the Sisters are inserted in the lives of the people. Their mission activities include the formation of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC), ministering to the sick and the elderly, assisting cooperatives and sustainable livelihood programs, helping abused women and children, collaborating with rural missionaries, championing the causes of ecology and the indigenous peoples, and — as their foundress did before them — running a continuing education program for domestic helpers (in collaboration with the Department of Education).

COMMON GIFT WITH PINOYS

Although she was of Spanish birth, Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus is someone Filipinos can easily relate to. “Her simplicity, her struggles, her joys and her pains in her missionary life are not alien to us,” relates Sr. Lynn. “Filipinos are known for their capacity to weather violent storms and endure turmoil in life, and yet reign triumphant in the end. We are a people of survivors who lived through the worst yet afforded to smile.”

“We share a common gift with Mother Candida: the strength of our faith and belief in God. It is this unique quality that helps us overcome and appreciate the best and the worst life has to offer – that in spite of all the realities we face, we can still be joyful, hopeful and endure sacrifices in the light of trust and confidence in God’s divine providence.”

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