philippine studies Ateneo de Manila University • Loyola Heights, Quezon City • 1108 Philippines Ignacia del Espiritu Santo: The Historical Reliability of Her Principal Contemporary Biography John H. Schumacher, S.J. Philippine Studies vol. 50, no. 3 (2002): 416–434 Copyright © Ateneo de Manila University Philippine Studies is published by the Ateneo de Manila University. Contents may not be copied or sent via email or other means to multiple sites and posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s written permission. Users may download and print articles for individual, noncom- mercial use only. However, unless prior permission has been obtained, you may not download an entire issue of a journal, or download multiple copies of articles. Please contact the publisher for any further use of this work at
[email protected]. http://www.philippinestudies.net Fri June 27 13:30:20 2008 Ignacia del Espiritu Santo: The Historical Reliability of Her Principal Contemporary Biography John N. Schumacher, S.J. The cause for beatification of Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, foundress of the Beaterio de la Compafiia de Jestis, the first religious congregation for Filipinas, has been in process for several decades now. Through the efforts of her congregation, today known as the Religious of the Virgin Mary, the largest in the Philippines and with missions in a number of other countries, there is widespread devotion to her among Filipinos. Perhaps it even exceeds that given to the official martyrs, St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Blessed Pedro Calungsod. For concem- ing the facts of their lives before their martyrdoms, there is even less information than about hers, the historically-attested fact of their mar- tyrdoms having supplied for the lack of historical information concem- ing their earlier lives.' Unfortunately apart from martyrs, the Roman Congregation for the Causes of Saints is accustomed to receive plentiful information on Westem men or women whose cause is being urged, even from earlier centuries.