Mother Francisca

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    Francisca de Fuentes was born to

    Don Simon de Fuentes and Doa

    Ana Maria del Castillo y Tamayo

    in the City of Manila in 1647.

    Francisca grew up to be a fine

    lady; and she was given in

    marriage to a gentleman who, by

    the inscrutable design of God,did not live long, leaving her a

    childless young widow.

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    Francisca then dedicated her time

    to prayer and social servicehelping many poor and sick in the

    city.

    In a vision in which she saw St.

    Francis and St. Dominic, she

    prostrated herself before St.Dominic.

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    Because of this, she chose to be a

    Dominican, being admitted as a

    tertiary in 1682.

    She chose the name Francisca

    del Espiritu Santo.

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    In 1686, Francisca, Antonia deJesus Esquerra, Maria Ana de

    Fuentes (blood-sister of Mother

    Francisca), and Sebastian Salcedo

    requested that they be allowed to

    live together in a life of prayer

    and the practice of the virtues

    while continuing their socialapostolate.

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    After a brief hesitation, their

    request was sent to the Master

    General of Order of Preachers inRome, who approved it on

    January, 1688.

    Meanwhile, the erstwhile director

    of the Third Order, Fr. Juan de

    Santa Maria, who favored the

    request of the ladies, was assigned

    to Bataan, and Fr. Juan de Santo

    Domingo was assigned in his place.

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    The new Director was against theproject and the proposal was laid

    aside. Mother Francisca and her

    companion were deeply dismayed,but Mother Sebastiana prophesied

    that although she and Mother

    Antonia would not live to see it,

    the Beaterio would be a reality.

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    Mother Francisca was progressively

    maturing spiritually, and her desirefor serving the needy grew more

    and more. The desire for the

    realization of the Beaterio alsogrew more intense so that one day,

    after confession, she opened once

    more the subject to Fr. Juan de

    Santo Domingo, and she got

    scolded for her. impatience.

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    But bravely, she told Fr. Juan with

    a tone of prophecy: Father Prior,

    the Beaterio will be established,and Your Reverence will see it.

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    Fr. Juan de Santo Domingo wasenlightened and became one of

    the powerful supporters of the

    Beaterio project. Under his

    direction, Mother Francisca and

    her companions lived at first the

    house of Mother Antonia de

    Esguerra who had by then died.

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    On the feast of St. Anne in 1696,the Beaterio was formally

    established with Fr. Juan de Santo

    Domingo, then Provincial,presiding. And on this joyful

    occasion, Mother Francisca was

    appointed first and founding

    Prioress for life.

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    The first community consisted of

    Mother Francisca, Mother Maria,

    and Mother Rosa de Santa Maria.

    The community was placed underthe patronage of St. Catherine of

    Siena and accepted in the

    Provincial Chapter of 1698.

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    But their joy would not last verylong, for in 1703, Manila Archbishop

    Don Diego Camacho wanted the

    Beaterio under his jurisdiction. Theconflict grew until Archbishop

    Camacho excommunicated Mother

    Francisca, and put the other sisters

    under interdict.

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    To avoid scandal, the beatasremoved their habits and with the

    help of the Governor General and

    counsel from the DominicanFathers, they went into exile at

    the Santa Potenciana College, there

    to stay for over two years in

    Babylonian Exile.

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    Mother Francisca suffered the

    most under these grave trials, but

    with heroic courage, she and most

    of the Sisters increased theirreligious and hoping for the day of

    victory.

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    Since part of the opposition against

    the Baeterio was a question offinances, very valuable help came

    from a lay Dominican Tertiary, Don

    Juan de Escao y Cordova, who in1704 assured the Beatas an annual

    subsidy through the Dominican

    Province of the Holy Rosary of twothousands pesos a considerable

    sum in those days.

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    The time of triumph came in 1706

    when after some negotiations, their

    former opponent ArchbishopCamacho changed heart and began

    to show himself sympathetic to the

    Beatas.

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    With the help of the Governador

    General and the Dominican Fathers,Mother Francicsca and her Sisterreturned to their original home,having donned once more theirDominican habits, there to liveunder the rules set for them asbeatas, with a few added features

    of their religious life as prescribedby the Archbishop.

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    The permit from the Archbishop is

    dated 26 March 1706. With Mother

    Francisca at the time of their

    return were (15) fifteen Sistersincluding a novice, and in addition,

    there were lay Sisters and a girl

    who eventually donned the habit.

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    It was in the same year that theBeaterio became a Beaterio-

    Colegio which admitted Spanish

    girls, mestizas and natives,instructing them in the (4) four

    Rs Religion, Reading Writing and

    Arithmetic with Music,

    Embroidery, Flower Making, etc.

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    The major trials having passed,Mother Francisca continued with

    even greater ardor her pursuit ofspiritual perfection for herself andfor spiritual daughters.

    Like the brave and strong womanthat she was she governed theBeaterio with great prudence and

    fidelity to the Rule, making theEucharist the sublime center of thecommunitys spiritual life.

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    To do this in the absence of a

    Chapel for the Blessed Sacrament inthe Beaterio, she importuned,against many difficulties, theFathers of San Juan de LetranCollege, to build a corridorconnecting the Beaterio to thechapel of the Blessed Sacraments in

    the Church of Letran. As always,her prayers eventually prevailed.

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    Worn-out physically by herperpetual acts of mortification, and

    her continual struggle to secure the

    solid establishment of the Beaterio,

    she became ill and was suffering

    with heroic resignation and humility

    for several months, edifying

    everyone with her extraordinaryspiritual life.

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    And on the feast of St.

    Bartholomew on 24 August 1711,

    she was born to eternal life,

    leaving behind her living witness to

    her love of God and neighbor- theBeaterio de Santa Catalina de Sena

    which lives vigorously as ever up to

    this day as the Congregation ofDominican Sisters of St. Catherine

    de Siena.