M. Ignacia del Espiritu Santo was born, lived and died during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines . The precise date of her birth is not known. Her baptismal record mentions only the date of her baptism, March 4, 1663 . This confirms the statement of Pedro Murillo Velarde that Ignacia was 21 years old in 1684. Ignacia was the eldest and the sole surviving child of Maria Jeronima, an yndia, and Jusepe Iuco, a pure Chinese immigrant from Amoy , China , who was converted to the Catholic faith in 1652 and resided in Binondo, Manila. When Ignacia was 21 years old, her parents wanted her to marry. Heeding a call deep within but not wanting to disappoint her parents, Ignacia sought counsel from Fr. Paul Klein, a Jesuit priest from Bohemia who arrived in Manila in 1682. The priest gave her the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. After this period of solitude and prayer, Ignacia decided to “remain in the service of the Divine Majesty” and to “live by the sweat of her face.” She left home and brought with her only a needle and a pair of scissors. She started to live alone in the house located at the back of the Jesuit College of Manila. Her life of prayer and labor attracted yndias who also felt called to the religious life but could not be admitted into the existing congregation at that time. M. Ignacia accepted these women into her company and the first community was born.
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M. Ignacia del Espiritu Santo was born, lived and died during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines . The precise date of her birth is not known. Her baptismal record mentions only the date of her baptism, March 4, 1663 . This confirms the statement of Pedro Murillo Velarde that Ignacia was 21 years old in 1684. Ignacia was the eldest and the sole surviving child of Maria Jeronima, an yndia, and Jusepe Iuco, a pure Chinese immigrant from Amoy , China , who was converted to the Catholic faith in 1652 and resided in Binondo, Manila. When Ignacia was 21 years old, her parents wanted her to marry. Heeding a call deep within but not wanting to disappoint her parents, Ignacia sought counsel from Fr. Paul Klein, a Jesuit priest from Bohemia who arrived in Manila in 1682. The priest gave her the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. After this period of solitude and prayer, Ignacia decided to “remain in the service of the Divine Majesty” and to “live by the sweat of her face.” She left home and brought with her only a needle and a pair of scissors. She started to live alone in the house located at the back of the Jesuit College of Manila. Her life of prayer and labor attracted yndias who also felt called to the religious life but could not be admitted into the existing congregation at that time. M. Ignacia accepted these women into her company and the first community was born.