Siervas de San Jose
Encyclopedia
The Servants of St. Joseph (who use the postnominal initials S.S.J.) form an international congregation of Religious Sisters
in the Roman Catholic Church
. It was founded by Mother Bonifacia Rodríguez-Castro on January 7, 1874, with the support and guidance of a Catalan
Jesuit, Fr. Francesc Xavier Butinyà i Hospital
, S.J.
, in Salamanca
, Spain
.
. Her father was a tailor
and the family was very poor, frequently having to move because he was unable to pay the rent. From a very young age, Bonifacia helped her father with his craft, by sewing some of the work he was able to get, as well as caring for her younger siblings.
After completing a basic schooling, Bonifacia began to work as a ropemaker. Later, in 1865, after the marriage of her sister, she was able to set up her home as a factory for rope, lace and various other items. In this way, Rodríguez lived a quiet life in which she was able to grow and deepen her faith, meditating and praying throughout the daily routine.
After five years as an independent artisan
, in 1870, Bonifacia meets a newly-arrived priest from Catalunya, Francesc Butinyà, S.J.
. Butinyà was from a family of factory owners, but he had a vision of responding to the needs of the growing working class which had arisen from the Industrial Revolution
, one which was far ahead of the Church leaders of the day. He preached that work was a way for all to become more free equal in society, and also to give witness to the teachings of the Gospel
. Rodríguez frequently attended the Masses
at which Butinyà preached and decided that he had an answer to her spiritual searching.
Bonifacia opened her workshop as a meetingplace for gatherings for working women like herself, both for socializing and for times of reflection on the themes and issues of the day. They invited Father Butinyà to these gatherings, and, under his guidance, they established themselves as the Association of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph. Gradually Rodríguez felt herself called to religious life in a convent
, and finally decided to enter a local one. Butinyà, however, saw in her the model he envisioned of someone who could imitate the quiet life of service and prayer which Christ
Himself had followed in his home in Nazareth
, with Mary, His mother, and Joseph. He therefore proposed to her that she take a radically different path, one in which a community of religious women could respond to the situation of poor, working women.
society, one of great civil unrest and violence at the height of the First Spanish Republic
. Butinyà wrote a short Rule of Life for the small community, in which he envisioned them demonstrating, through their lives, that there was a fraternity in labor, and their creating spaces where workers could become free and critical obervers of their society. Bonifacia Rodríguez developed deep trust in this vision, and maintained a strong sense of her life as an imitation of that of St. Joseph, who worked quietly building a home in Nazareth. This was the vision which sustained her throughout her life.
This trust was needed, as the community faced the loss of Butinyà and his support when, the following April, he was expelled from Spain, along with all the other members of the Society of Jesus. Though he soon wrote them from his place of exile in France, Rodríguez faced the burden alone of sustaining the community and their goal of protecting the youth of the city. She faced a huge task: the community had been formed into a religious congregation, one, however, which had chosen to root its life among the working class, sharing their life. They wanted to proclaim to the working poor that, especially to women who had few options for their lives in that society, that the teachings and life of Christ were not for an abstract, moral imitation, but a way to take their proper place in a Christian society.
The Republic fell a year after the Congregation had formed, and the monarchy had returned to power. A period of peace came to the nation as a result. The Church felt secure again and sought to return to traditional modes of operation. A new Bishop of Salamanca was installed, Narciso Martínez y Izquierdo, who immediately looked to invigorate the structures and organizations of the Church. Among these was the life of the religious communities of the city. He grasped and supported the vision of the Josephite Servants. With this time of peace and official support, the number of Servants grew, and they expanded their ministry to reach out to those they had been unable to reach previously.
In 1878, the bishop appointed don
Pedro García y Repila as the new Director of the Congregation. García did not appreciate either the vision of the Josephites or the contributions of Mother Bonifacia. She began to see herself excluded from decisions regarding the life of the Congregation, just at the time when the growing number of Servants was bringing in women who identified Consecrated Life
with the security and propriety of a tradtional convent.
Three years later, the Congregation moved from the working-class neighborhood where Bonificia had lived her entire life to a large, old house which was in total disrepair. The Servants named it the House of St. Teresa. They continued to work, though, with the members of the Josephite Association Rodríguez had founded in her first days of religious commitment. This collaboration continued to prove fruitful to both groups in working their missions.
A union of the Catalan houses with that in Salamanca was proposed by Butinyà in 1882. This time, in response to this, Mother Bonifacia was able to travel to that region to being the process for this. After her visit to the different houses whereby she was make to meet and get to know the Catalan Sisters, she stopped in Zaragoza
to meet with Butinyà. While there, she received a letter from the community in Salamanca, in which the writer had signed herself as "Superior". Thus Rodríguez received notice of her removal from office. Upon her return to the house, she encountered only rejection and insults. Deciding that there was no good way to deal with this situation, Rodríguez petitioned the bishop to establish a new house of the Congregation in the city of Zamora
. She left Salamanca with her mother on 25 July 1883, never to live there again.
In that period, Zamora was far more of an agricultural environment that Salamanca. The pair found hospitality with a local priest, Felipe González, who had known and supported their work in Salamanca. Nevertheless, Mother Bonifacia felt weak and useless. Her mother was her real support in that transition. Within a week, a novice
from Salamanca, and a new candidate, Soccoro Hernández, joined her. The latter was to become her faithful companion.
By November of that year, the small group was able to establish their own home in the city, where they began again to establish the project, setting up a workshop whereby they could earn their living and providing a gathering place for their collaborators in the mission. They were desperately poor, but persevered. In the meantime, they received frequent communications from Butinyà, who encouraged them in their perseverance.
Back in Salamanca, García Repila was leading the Congregation there away from the commitment to manual labor which Butinyà and Rodríguez had seen as fundamental to their way of life, both spiritually and in identifying with their neighbors. This advanced to the point where, in August 1884, Bishop Martínez modified the Constitutions written in 1882 by Butinyà to remove this as an element of their daily lives. Rodríguez and Butinyà continued writing them frequently, but their only reply was silence. At that point, Rodríguez decided that the only future lay with the proposed union with the Catalan houses.
She made another trip to Catalunya in 1886, accompanied by Sister Soccoro. Following this, she made a visit to the House of St. Teresa in Salamanca, to see one last time if a complete union of all the communities might be possible. She saw that there was a complete lack of interest for this on the part of the Sisters in Salamanca. Thus the proposed union never came to be. The Catalan communities went on to form an independent Congregation, the Daughters of St. Joseph.
On 1 July 1901, the Congregation received formal Papal approbation
by Pope Leo XIII
. Publication of this led many priests of the diocese to contact the Servants to congratulate them. Noticable in the silence was any word from the House of St. Teresa. On November 15th of that same year, the entire community signed a letter to them, seeking some way of maintaining the bonds between the two groups. On December 7th, the current Superior, Luisa Huerta, replied. She wrote the there were no documents indicating any such connection between them, and claimed that it was Rodríguez herself who had walked out of the community.
Mother Bonifacia decided to make one final attempt to achieve a reconciliation. She went personally to Salamanca. There she was denied admission and ignored by the members of the community. She returned to Zamora and continued her life there, quietly working with the young girls and women of the city. She died on 8 August 1905.
, Bolivia
, Chile
, Colombia
, Cuba
, Italy
, Philippines
, Papua New Guinea
and Vietnam
.
in May 1932 and established themselves in San Jose, Antique
. A year later, they moved to Silay City
, Negros Occidental
, where they established St. Theresita's Academy
, until today the only private, Catholic secondary school in the city. The SSJ Philippine Province of the Holy Family has different communities in the Visayas
and Luzon
, they also established "Holy Family School of Quezon City Inc.", which is an exclusive Catholic School in Quezon City, Philippines. The SSJ Philippine Province of the Holy Family also has different missionary communities in Papua New Guinea
and Vietnam
.
announced that Mother Bonifacia would be canonized on 23 October.
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. It was founded by Mother Bonifacia Rodríguez-Castro on January 7, 1874, with the support and guidance of a Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
Jesuit, Fr. Francesc Xavier Butinyà i Hospital
Francesc Xavier Butinyà i Hospital
Francesc Xavier Butinyà i Hospital was a Catalan missionary Jesuit, teacher and writer and the founder of two religious congregations of Sisters. He was the son of a prosperous factory owner...
, S.J.
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, in Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Foundation
Rodríguez was born in Salamanca on 6 June 1873, in a small home on Las Mazas Street near the ancient UniversityUniversity of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
. Her father was a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
and the family was very poor, frequently having to move because he was unable to pay the rent. From a very young age, Bonifacia helped her father with his craft, by sewing some of the work he was able to get, as well as caring for her younger siblings.
After completing a basic schooling, Bonifacia began to work as a ropemaker. Later, in 1865, after the marriage of her sister, she was able to set up her home as a factory for rope, lace and various other items. In this way, Rodríguez lived a quiet life in which she was able to grow and deepen her faith, meditating and praying throughout the daily routine.
After five years as an independent artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
, in 1870, Bonifacia meets a newly-arrived priest from Catalunya, Francesc Butinyà, S.J.
Francesc Xavier Butinyà i Hospital
Francesc Xavier Butinyà i Hospital was a Catalan missionary Jesuit, teacher and writer and the founder of two religious congregations of Sisters. He was the son of a prosperous factory owner...
. Butinyà was from a family of factory owners, but he had a vision of responding to the needs of the growing working class which had arisen from the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, one which was far ahead of the Church leaders of the day. He preached that work was a way for all to become more free equal in society, and also to give witness to the teachings of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
. Rodríguez frequently attended the Masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
at which Butinyà preached and decided that he had an answer to her spiritual searching.
Bonifacia opened her workshop as a meetingplace for gatherings for working women like herself, both for socializing and for times of reflection on the themes and issues of the day. They invited Father Butinyà to these gatherings, and, under his guidance, they established themselves as the Association of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph. Gradually Rodríguez felt herself called to religious life in a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
, and finally decided to enter a local one. Butinyà, however, saw in her the model he envisioned of someone who could imitate the quiet life of service and prayer which Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
Himself had followed in his home in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
, with Mary, His mother, and Joseph. He therefore proposed to her that she take a radically different path, one in which a community of religious women could respond to the situation of poor, working women.
A new congregation
Rodríguez took up the challenge and six of her companions moved into her small home to form a relgious community, with her as their leader. This took place on 10 January 1874. It was a troubled time in SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
society, one of great civil unrest and violence at the height of the First Spanish Republic
First Spanish Republic
The First Spanish Republic was the political regime that existed in Spain between the parliamentary proclamation on 11 February 1873 and 29 December 1874 when General Arsenio Martínez-Campos's pronunciamento marked the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain...
. Butinyà wrote a short Rule of Life for the small community, in which he envisioned them demonstrating, through their lives, that there was a fraternity in labor, and their creating spaces where workers could become free and critical obervers of their society. Bonifacia Rodríguez developed deep trust in this vision, and maintained a strong sense of her life as an imitation of that of St. Joseph, who worked quietly building a home in Nazareth. This was the vision which sustained her throughout her life.
This trust was needed, as the community faced the loss of Butinyà and his support when, the following April, he was expelled from Spain, along with all the other members of the Society of Jesus. Though he soon wrote them from his place of exile in France, Rodríguez faced the burden alone of sustaining the community and their goal of protecting the youth of the city. She faced a huge task: the community had been formed into a religious congregation, one, however, which had chosen to root its life among the working class, sharing their life. They wanted to proclaim to the working poor that, especially to women who had few options for their lives in that society, that the teachings and life of Christ were not for an abstract, moral imitation, but a way to take their proper place in a Christian society.
The Republic fell a year after the Congregation had formed, and the monarchy had returned to power. A period of peace came to the nation as a result. The Church felt secure again and sought to return to traditional modes of operation. A new Bishop of Salamanca was installed, Narciso Martínez y Izquierdo, who immediately looked to invigorate the structures and organizations of the Church. Among these was the life of the religious communities of the city. He grasped and supported the vision of the Josephite Servants. With this time of peace and official support, the number of Servants grew, and they expanded their ministry to reach out to those they had been unable to reach previously.
In 1878, the bishop appointed don
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Pedro García y Repila as the new Director of the Congregation. García did not appreciate either the vision of the Josephites or the contributions of Mother Bonifacia. She began to see herself excluded from decisions regarding the life of the Congregation, just at the time when the growing number of Servants was bringing in women who identified Consecrated Life
Consecrated life
The consecrated life in the Christian tradition, especially the Roman Catholic Church, but also the Anglican Church and to some extent other Christian denominations, is, as the Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law states: "a stable form of living by which faithful, following Christ more closely under...
with the security and propriety of a tradtional convent.
Three years later, the Congregation moved from the working-class neighborhood where Bonificia had lived her entire life to a large, old house which was in total disrepair. The Servants named it the House of St. Teresa. They continued to work, though, with the members of the Josephite Association Rodríguez had founded in her first days of religious commitment. This collaboration continued to prove fruitful to both groups in working their missions.
Expansion and division
Butinyà's period of exile had ended with the return of the monarchy, but he had returned to his native Catalunya. From there he began to write to Mother Bonifacia to urge her to come to expand the Congregation. For various reasons, she was not able to comply with his repeated requests. Thus, in February 1875, Butinyà established a community of Servants on his own in that region of the country. This soon grew to several houses.A union of the Catalan houses with that in Salamanca was proposed by Butinyà in 1882. This time, in response to this, Mother Bonifacia was able to travel to that region to being the process for this. After her visit to the different houses whereby she was make to meet and get to know the Catalan Sisters, she stopped in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
to meet with Butinyà. While there, she received a letter from the community in Salamanca, in which the writer had signed herself as "Superior". Thus Rodríguez received notice of her removal from office. Upon her return to the house, she encountered only rejection and insults. Deciding that there was no good way to deal with this situation, Rodríguez petitioned the bishop to establish a new house of the Congregation in the city of Zamora
Zamora
-Geography:Ecuador* Zamora, Ecuador* Zamora-Chinchipe Province** Zamora RiverMexico* Zamora, Michoacán* Zamora Municipality, Michoacán* Gutiérrez Zamora, VeracruzSpain* Zamora, Spain* Zamora United States...
. She left Salamanca with her mother on 25 July 1883, never to live there again.
In that period, Zamora was far more of an agricultural environment that Salamanca. The pair found hospitality with a local priest, Felipe González, who had known and supported their work in Salamanca. Nevertheless, Mother Bonifacia felt weak and useless. Her mother was her real support in that transition. Within a week, a novice
Novice
A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...
from Salamanca, and a new candidate, Soccoro Hernández, joined her. The latter was to become her faithful companion.
By November of that year, the small group was able to establish their own home in the city, where they began again to establish the project, setting up a workshop whereby they could earn their living and providing a gathering place for their collaborators in the mission. They were desperately poor, but persevered. In the meantime, they received frequent communications from Butinyà, who encouraged them in their perseverance.
Back in Salamanca, García Repila was leading the Congregation there away from the commitment to manual labor which Butinyà and Rodríguez had seen as fundamental to their way of life, both spiritually and in identifying with their neighbors. This advanced to the point where, in August 1884, Bishop Martínez modified the Constitutions written in 1882 by Butinyà to remove this as an element of their daily lives. Rodríguez and Butinyà continued writing them frequently, but their only reply was silence. At that point, Rodríguez decided that the only future lay with the proposed union with the Catalan houses.
She made another trip to Catalunya in 1886, accompanied by Sister Soccoro. Following this, she made a visit to the House of St. Teresa in Salamanca, to see one last time if a complete union of all the communities might be possible. She saw that there was a complete lack of interest for this on the part of the Sisters in Salamanca. Thus the proposed union never came to be. The Catalan communities went on to form an independent Congregation, the Daughters of St. Joseph.
A new foundation
Despite the obstacles they endured, the small community in Zamora were able to obtain a larger house. Donations from friends of Father Butinyà had let them buy new and equipment for their work. In this new house, they were able to expand to the point where this industrial work was able to sustain not only the Servants, but the young girls they had begun to take in and teach a trade. They used this building to be a center of industrial training and development of the minds and hearts of their young charges.On 1 July 1901, the Congregation received formal Papal approbation
Approbation
Approbation is, in Roman Catholic canon law, an act by which a bishop or other legitimate superior grants to an ecclesiastic the actual exercise of his ministry....
by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
. Publication of this led many priests of the diocese to contact the Servants to congratulate them. Noticable in the silence was any word from the House of St. Teresa. On November 15th of that same year, the entire community signed a letter to them, seeking some way of maintaining the bonds between the two groups. On December 7th, the current Superior, Luisa Huerta, replied. She wrote the there were no documents indicating any such connection between them, and claimed that it was Rodríguez herself who had walked out of the community.
Mother Bonifacia decided to make one final attempt to achieve a reconciliation. She went personally to Salamanca. There she was denied admission and ignored by the members of the community. She returned to Zamora and continued her life there, quietly working with the young girls and women of the city. She died on 8 August 1905.
Legacy
Apart from Spain, the Servants of St. Joseph currently (2010) also have communities in ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
The Philippines
Upon the invitation of Mons. James McCloskey, the Bishop of Jaro, Iloilo, the SSJ Sisters came to the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in May 1932 and established themselves in San Jose, Antique
San Jose, Antique
San Jose is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Antique...
. A year later, they moved to Silay City
Silay City
Silay City is a 2nd class city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the August 1, 2007 census, it had a total population of 120,365 people...
, Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Bacolod City and it occupies the northwestern half of Negros Island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half...
, where they established St. Theresita's Academy
St. Theresita's Academy
St. Theresita's Academy, informally referred to by the acronym STA, is the only private, Catholic secondary school in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Its students and alumni are called Theresians.-History:...
, until today the only private, Catholic secondary school in the city. The SSJ Philippine Province of the Holy Family has different communities in the Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
and Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, they also established "Holy Family School of Quezon City Inc.", which is an exclusive Catholic School in Quezon City, Philippines. The SSJ Philippine Province of the Holy Family also has different missionary communities in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Bonifacia declared a saint
In 2011, the Holy SeeHoly See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
announced that Mother Bonifacia would be canonized on 23 October.