Nazareth School Alumni Association

Our Foundress

Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus and the Hijas de Jesus

JUANA JOSEFA CIPITRIA Y BARRIOLA, was born on May 31, 1845 at a caserio named Berrospe, in Andoain; in the province of Guipozcoa, Spain. Her parents, Juan Miguel and Maria Jesus were poor and simple weavers. As a child she had a simple faith in God as Father. “God is our Father. We are His children and so we are brothers and sisters to one another.”

At the young age of 17, she worked as a helper to a wealthy family. She was dedicated not only in her household duties but also in her faith life. And while doing this, she also showed great love for the poor by giving food or even her salary to them. She would say: “where there is no room for the poor, neither there room for me.”

Then at the age of 26, despite her poor and simple background and lack of education, God called her to found a congregation with the mission of education of her brothers and sisters in faith. He also gave her the help she needed through a Jesuit priest named Fr. Miguel San Jose Herranza, S.J. through whose guidance she deepened in the Ignatian spirit.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she changed her name to Candida Maria de Jesus. On December 8, 1871, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, she founded the Congregation of the Hijas de Jesus dedicated to the salvation of souls through the Christian formation of children and the youth.

Through her life and especially as a foundress, Candida Maria de Jesus had always been aware of her personal poverty. Thus she would distrust herself and put all her trust in “God is a loving Father who always provide and never abandons his children.” In the face of trials and difficulties she would say, “alone I can do nothing, but with God I can do everything.” She also looked to Mary as the Star of the Way to whom she would always say: “may she shelter us beneath her mantle.”

In all that she did, Candida Ma. de Jesus tried to search for and be obedient to God’s will. As her way of loving God, she wanted to please him and would never tire working for His greater glory. These she expressed by trying to bring as many souls to God as possible and she encouraged everyone especially her daughters to do the same.

Mother Foundress: Her Spirituality, Charism and Devotion

The spirituality of the Mother Foundress was based on the Spiritual Exercise of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Everything she did was for the greater glory of God (Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam); always searching and finding God in all things, and making one a contemplation in action.

The characteristic features of her charism are noted in the following key values:

Her great devotions were:

• Her love for the Blessed Trinity- thus her reverential gesture when making the Sign of the Cross; and her expressions: “Blessed be the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one triune God.” “Blessed be God!”
• Love for the Holy Eucharist – her great desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist even as a young girl up to her death.
• The Sacred Heart of Jesus – whose feast as she would celebrate with the greatest fervor;
  The Blessed Virgin Mary whom she greatly loved as a Mother and on whose patronage she placed the Congregation; and
• St. Joseph, under whose protection and care he placed many difficult foundations.

With the collaboration of Fr. Miguel San Jose Herranz, a Jesuit Father, she wrote the constitutions which were approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1902.

Indeed the universalism of her charism continues to be commitment worth considering. The Congregation has grown and spread throughout the world.

She died in Salamanca, Spain on August 9, 1912 and the fame of her holiness has continued to increase. She was proclaimed “Blessed” on May 12, 1996.