St. Mariana de Jesús de Paredes
Feast day: May 26
“May the world learn of the energies hidden in prayer and sacrifice.”
This is the remark of Pope Pius XII at the canonization in 1950 of St. Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, a mystic with a love of the sick who lived in 17th-century Ecuador. At the advice of her spiritual director, she chose not to enter a convent, but instead became a secular Franciscan living a life of prayer and penance as a single person dedicated to our Lord.
St. Mariana was born in 1618 into a noble family, the youngest of eight children, but was orphaned at an early age and raised by a sister. She was very pious as a young child and made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience at age 10.
With her love of God and devotion to the Blessed Mother, St. Mariana hoped either to enter a monastery or to evangelize and share the faith with people. Instead, she chose to follow the will of God and live in seclusion, austerity and profound prayer as a hermit in her sister’s home. Still, she prayed to Mary to be able to shine Christ’s light and love to others. Although she faced various trials and temptations, she remained true to her vocation.
St. Mariana seldom left the house except to attend Mass and speak to her spiritual director. Like St. Catherine of Siena and St. Rose of Lima, she kept a strict fast and was miraculously sustained by the Eucharist, which she received every morning in holy Communion. She also slept only a few hours each night, spending the time in intense, enraptured prayer instead.
Yet St. Mariana was enlivened through prayer to start the first free clinic in Quito, as well as a kindergarten for native children. Even with her limited education, she used what gifts she had so that children could learn to read, sing and pray.
St. Mariana received graces that allowed her to predict the future and see future events as if they were passing before her. It was also said that she could read the secrets of hearts and cure diseases by simply making the Sign of the Cross or by sprinkling holy water on a sick person.
Moreover, her love of the sick led her to nurse many back to health during plagues and epidemics, despite putting her own life at risk. In 1645, when the city of Quito was struck by both an epidemic and a series of earthquakes, she offered herself publicly as a sacrifice for the sins of the people and an end to the disasters. The earthquake ended and the epidemic subsided, but St. Mariana fell ill and died. She was 26 years old. After her death, a white lily blossomed from her grave, and thus she is known as the “Lily of Quito” and honored as a national heroine of Ecuador. St. Mariana was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1853 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
St. Mariana led a simple life in which she listened to her spiritual director, from whom she learned to hear the voice of God. From her prayer life, she acknowledged that God had plans for her other than to become a nun. She embraced the dedicated single life by joining the Third Order of St. Francis and saw each day how the Lord wanted her to help people uniquely, either through prayer or by reaching out to them. St. Mariana fell in love with God and saw that his very specific plan for her was fruitful.
After her death, St. Mariana’s home was converted into a Carmelite monastery per her request, as she admired and prayed to St. Theresa of Avila, the Carmelite mystic and reformer. The Old Carmelite Monastery of San José, known as El Carmen Alto, or “The Upper Carmel,” for its location in the historic district of Quito. The nuns of this monastery prepared approximately 65,000 hosts for the Masses celebrated during the International Eucharistic Congress held in Quito in 2014.
Reflection
Dear Lord, help me to be attentive to your voice. May I live in your love knowing that you have great plans for even the most unusual path.
Prayer
O God, who in your Saints have given an example
and brought us protection in our weakness
to help us tread the path of salvation,
mercifully grant
that we, who honor the heavenly birthday of blessed Mariana de Jesús de Paredes,
may, through her example, make our way to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
