Inés de Benigánim,

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

''Josefa María of Saint Agnes'', (9 February 1625 – 21 January 1696) - born as ''Josefa Teresa Albiñana Gomar'' - was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

of the

Discalced Augustinians The Order of Discalced Augustinians (; abbreviation: OAD) is a mendicant order that branched off from the Order of Saint Augustine as a reform movement. History During the Counter-Reformation, there was a special interest among the Augustinian ...

. She became known for her profound spiritual and theological insight as well as for her severe austerities she practiced during her life. Her beatification was celebrated in 1888 in

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

Life

Josefa Teresa Albiñana Gomar was born in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1625 to poor parents, Lluís Albiñana and his wife Vicenta Gomar. Her father died when she was a child. Following the death of her father, the family was aided by the town mayor, her uncle Bartomeu Tudela. As a child she suffered from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. At the age of 13 or 14, having gone to the river to wash clothes, she reported having a vision of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

who called her to embrace him and seek the religious life. This prompted her to refuse an offer of marriage, which so enraged her suitor that he killed himself. She entered the Discalced Augustinian

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in her hometown on 25 October 1643 and assumed the religious name ''Josefa María of Saint Agnes'' upon vesting in the habit on 26 June 1644; she made her solemn vows on 27 August 1645. She began to practise severe austerities that characterised her life and her time amongst her fellow religious. She also became known for prophetic gifts, which prompted people to consult her for her spiritual insights. She had minimal formal education but instead received great understanding of theological topics. She could neither read nor follow the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...

which was held in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Gomar died in 1696 on the feast of

Saint Agnes Agnes of Rome (21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Chu ...

, after having received the sacraments for the last time. Her remains are incorrupt and in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

her tomb was desecrated though later restored.

Beatification

The

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

process commenced in an informative process that opened in 1729 and concluded sometime after having collected her writings and available witness interrogatories. Theologians met to discuss her theological writings and approved them as orthodox on 21 May 1760. An apostolic process was also held as a means of continuing the work of the previous process while the two were validated in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 26 January 1803. The formal introduction to the cause came on 16 September 1769 under

Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (; ; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his elec ...

when she was proclaimed a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

- the first official stage in the process of sanctification. She was proclaimed to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 19 August 1838 after

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

recognized her life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

. Two informative processes were held to investigate two miracles required for her beatification and received the validation of the Congregation of Rites following its conclusion. Two separate meetings saw approval of the miracle on 7 March 1884 and 13 January 1885, while officials made the final decision in favor of the miracles on 21 July 1885.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

approved the two miracles on 21 February 1886 and beatified her in

on 26 February 1888.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beniganim, Ines de 1625 births 1696 deaths 17th-century venerated Christians 17th-century Spanish nuns Augustinian nuns Beatifications by Pope Leo XIII People from Valencia Spanish beatified people