St. Candida Maria de Jesus

Ø  Foundress of the Congregation Hijas de Jesús ( Daughters of Jesus ) in Spain Ø  Spanish Religious Nun and educator
Born	On 31st  May 1845 in Andoain, Guipuzcoa, Spain
Died	On 9th  August 1912 in Salamanca, Spain of natural causes
Beatified	On 8th  May 1996 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On 17th  October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	9th August

Candida Maria de Jesus  born on 31st  May 1845 in Andoáin, Guipúzcoa, Spain as Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola .Oldest of seven children of Miguel Cipitria and María Jesús Barriola. The family were weavers, and Juana learned the craft as a child. At age 18 she left home to work as a maid to a family in Burgos, Spain.            In 1863, when she was 23, she met Jesuit Father Miguel José Herranz, who helped her in her call to form a Congregation and on 8 December 1871 she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus to work for a Christian upbringing of children, and to improve the condition of woman in Salamanca, Spain. She took the name Mother Candida Maria de Jesus. Mother Candida based her spirituality on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.            The congregation spread throughout all of Spain. It received formal approval from Pope Leo XIII on 31 July 1901. Ten years later, the congregation had grown to the point that she was able to send Sisters to establish a school in Brazil, the first foundation outside of Spain. She died on 9 August 1912. Mother candida beatified on 8th  May 1996 by Pope John Paul II and  canonized On 17th  October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.