Francisca de Fuentes, daughter of Simon de Fuentes and Ana Maria Tamayo del Castillo, was born in the City of Manila in 1647. Widowed and childless after a brief marriage , she dedicated herself to helping the sick, the needy and the young. In 1682, she received the habit of a Dominican Tertiary and took the name MOTHER FRANCISCA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO. She was joined by a small group, and a family of religious, founded in the Philippines as its beginning. Final approval came later, but the early years brought many difficulties. Francisca preserved. Her pioneering of a religious community for Filipinas, in the spirit of St. Dominic, wad based on a life of prayer, of penance and service for others. She herself set an example of these, and continued to guide and inspire her companions.
On August 21,1711, MOTHER FRANCISCA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO died at the age of 63, bringing to a happy end a life of deep fidelity, and leaving to the congregation she founded – the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena – a legacy of service to the sick, the poor and the young.
PRAYER FOR MOTHER FRANCISCA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO DE FUENTES
God, Our Father, You are glorified in You Saints, for in their lives we see the crowning of Your gifts. We commend to You the life and example of MOTHER FRANCISCA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO. She responded wonderfully to Your grace by a life of holiness. As a woman of the Philippines, she drew herself close to You in her service of the sick, the poor and the young. We ask this prayer in her memory You special help (mention favor request) May her holiness be recognized by the Church as an example of faithfulness for all the people of our land
We ask this through the merits of Jesus our merciful Savior and the prayers of Mary, Queen of the Rosary. Amen.