"Centennial Celebration & Diamond Jubilee "
by S. Ma. Rita C. Ferraris, RVM

When Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo responded to the inspiration of God to “remain in the service of His Majesty,” maybe her dreams were not “beyond imagining.” She was a simple and lowly Yndia, seeking expression of her aspiration to dedicate her whole being to God. She would have been content to follow the leadership of others in the community of Dominican tertiaries in the home of Doña Antonia Esquerra, strive for perfection in the paths laid out by her Spanish betters.

 But the Lord had plans for her. Disposing herself to find God’s will brought her to the direction of the Jesuit Fr. Paul Klein and the instrumentality of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, and the resolve to “live by the sweat of her brow” as a response to the Divine invitation.

The God-inspired option quickly resonated with others of her race on a similar quest. And “as far back as 1685 several native women” joined her mission to serve God; the Beaterio was born. By dint of trial by experience, and the spiritual direction of the Jesuit missionaries, a community was formed, and gradually its government took shape: a group of Yndias, governed by themselves. After 41 years they developed the basic structure of governance, a regulated life of asceticism and apostolic service, edifying Manila society with the way of life they lived. With only private vows pronounced before the assembled community, they lived the life of the evangelical counsels and engaged in promoting the Spiritual Exercises among the women of the colony, and educating young girls in the faith and the rudiments of literacy as well as in feminine household skills.

  In 1726 the Beaterio de la Compañia was stable enough to apply for official recognition from the Church. In 1732 the Beaterio obtained a certification from the archdiocesan administrator: “The country can be compared to an arid desert filled with thorns, transformed into a beautiful garden of flowering virginity and other Christian values.” The rules were approved with the injunction that “they be immediately observed.” The sitting archbishop in 1748, Pedro de la Santisima Trinidad Matinez de Arizala, went further. After sending a visitor to ascertain the edifying and useful way of life in the Beaterio, he solicited from King Ferdinand VI of Spain the Royal Protection. Due process took years, and the benefit desired was obtained on November 25, 1755. But the conditions were harsh to the dreams of Mother Ignacia as the King insisted on his royal prerogatives to keep the institution secular rather than religious. He demanded that all the provisions in the Constitutions that pertained to the evangelical counsels had to be purged, and the secular head of the colony, not the archbishop, was made responsible for the institution. To keep the Beaterio in existence everyone complied, on paper, but not in practice and spirit. The evangelical counsels continued to be pronounced in private, and religious life was observed in the institution. This became the procedure followed for the rest of the Spanish colonial period. Meanwhile, the Beaterio’s services as a retreat house and an educational institution flourished in the colony. From 1875 the Beaterio founded mission communities in the Jesuit parishes in Mindanao.

The Filipino revolution in 1896, followed by the intervention of the forces of the United States of America resulted in the colony changing colonial masters. The change brought about the end of the Spanish Patronato system, and the separation pf Church and State. For the Beaterio de la Compañia this meant a liberation from the shackles of government control over the institution’s life. With the guidance of the Jesuit missionaries, the superiors of the Beaterio in Manila as well as the mission beaterios took steps to gain status in the Church as a religious community after more than two centuries and a half of government-imposed constraints. The Beaterio emerged from its “catacomb existence” to begin to become an institute of consecrated life in the church.

 Presuming that the archdiocesan approval of 1732 was the first step already hurdled, application to Rome for recognition was initiated, only to find out that id did not constitute the required canonical erection. Rome spelled out the correct procedure, and after fulfilling them between 1903-1906, Archbishop Jeremias J. Harty, newly installed archbishop of Manila, instituted the canonical erection on July 31, 1906. The first requirement being satisfied by this, the Holy See was quick to respond, and issued the Decretum Laudis, the Decree of Praise, on March 17, 1907, thereby constituting the Beaterio founded by Mother Ignacia a religious Congregation recognized by the Holy See. It was the first institute for women to gain this status in the Philippines.

The preceding account explains the centennial celebration the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, founded as the Beaterio de la Compañia by the Servant of God, Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo in 1684, launched in July, 2006, and culminating on March 17, 2007, encompassing the courageous work of that humble but valiant woman, Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, the crowing of her dreams and the transmission of her legacy through more than three centuries. These years proclaim the goodness God has done to His humble handmaid, and to give glory to His name! Indeed He had done great things in her, and we magnify the Lord of our history.