III. Spiritual life flourishes among Filipinos
By the close of the 17th century the faith had blossomed in full as Filipinos yearned for a deeper religious life. Historian Schumacher considers this the “golden age” in the life of the Philippine Church, as it saw the emergence of the beaterios (mystical communities of the lay folk as described by writer Nick Joaquin), and the Filipino clergy.
The Monasterio de Santa Clara had been in existence in the Walled City since 1621. But it did not admit native women. Under the spiritual care of the Dominicans, five beatas lived together in a private home, praying the Rosary and doing mental prayers and spiritual exercises. Upon reaching 15 beatas, corresponding to the 15 Mysteries, the Beaterio de Santa Catalina was founded on July 26, 1696, with Mother Francisca del Espiritu Santo as prioress. Construction at the convent later drew the ire of the governor-general, and soon the beatas clashed with the archbishop, who wanted to assert his authority. The beatas went to Santa Potenciana in exile. After negotiations, the archbishop had a change of heart and allowed the beatas to return. Mother Francisca brought back 16 beatas and agreed to observe the rules of enclosure.
Beaterio de la Compania in Intramuros
The next harvest was literally at the churchyard garden of the Augustinian Recollects. The Bulakeña sisters Dionisia and Cecilia Rosa Talangpaz sought a life dedicated to the Eucharist and the Lady of Mt. Carmel. The Recollects of San Sebastian Church obliged and gave them the habit of the mantelatas of the Augustinian Third Order on July 16, 1725. The sisters and two other beatas lived in prayer in a nipa house at the Recollect garden. Problems arose when more young women sought admission into new beaterio, forcing the Recollect prior to shut it down. Appeals softened the heart of the prior, and the beatas got back their habits and the nipa house. The Beaterio de San Sebastian finally gained royal recognition in 1756, but not before encountering opposition from government and religious authorities.
The Chinese mestiza Ignacia del Espiritu Santo initially planned to join the group of Dominican tertiaries, which later became the Beaterio de Santa Catalina. Mother Ignacia instead founded the Beaterio de la Compañia under Jesuit spiritual direction as she began to attract more followers. The beaterio, restricted by its directress to indias and Chinese mestizas, gained archdiocesan approval in 1732, but traces its roots to 1684 when she began work on her community after a spiritual retreat. It is said to be the first Filipino community to elect its officials through secret ballot. The perseverance of Mother Ignacia and her successors led to the beaterio’s establishment, more than a century and a half later, as the first indigenous foundation in the Philippines to become a religious congregation, known today as the Religious of the Virgin Mary.
San Lorenzo Ruiz and companion martyrs offering the Mass with Japanese Christians (San Miguel Corp.)
Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
The confraternities, sodalities, and other religious associations also played a significant role in the religious and social life of Filipinos. The Santa Mesa de la Misericordia, formed in 1593, took the lead in the corporal works of mercy, its hooded members seeking alms for the poor. The brotherhood helped the poor, the orphans, and deserving students. It buried the poor, the abandoned, and criminals who had been executed. The Jesuits founded the Congregacion Mariana, or the Sodality of Our Lady, exhorting members to a deeper Christian life. The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, founded by the Dominicans in 1590, produced Lorenzo Ruiz, the escribano of Binondo Church who fled with the Dominican missionaries to Japan to escape a false charge. In 1637, he was martyred by the Tokugawa shogunate for refusing to renounce his faith. Three hundred years later, he was canonized as the first Filipino saint. San Lorenzo would rather die a “thousand deaths” than deny the Savior.
Holy Week confessions in Bohol (Cuaresma coffee table book, 2000)
Another layperson, Pedro Calungsod, died a martyr in 1672, four years after he went with Fr. Diego Luis San Vitores and other Jesuits to evangelize the Chamorros in Guam. The young Calungsod was struck by a spear in the chest while protecting Padre Diego from two native attackers. Rumor had spread that the Jesuits’ baptismal water was poisoned, turning the Chamorros against the missionaries. Nearly three-and-a-half centuries later, Calungsod, the proto-martyr of the Visayas, was proclaimed a saint.
That the first two saints produced by the Philippines were laypersons is no coincidence. Schumacher writes: “The religious life introduced by the missionaries was not a diluted version of European Christianity … Not mere individual conversions were sought for, but rather the creation of a Christian community.”
Pope Francis prays before a mosaic of St Pedro Calungsod in St Peter’s (Nov 21, 2013)