Continuing our travels, we move today to South America - specifically Ecuador.
St. Mariana de Jesus de Perede was born in Quito in 1618, the daughter of Spanish nobility. She was the youngest of eight children and was orphaned at a very young age. She was raised by an older sister and brother-in-law. She was drawn to the spiritual life, but refusing entry into a convent, Mariana was allowed by her sister to live in seclusion in their home, centering her spiritual life on the nearby Jesuit church, where she participated in a number of sodalities.
The Franciscans claimed Mariana as a holy person as she did wear the Franciscan scapulary and sash, but the Jesuits also had a strong influence on her spiritual life as her religious name "de Jesus" indicates. She kept a very strict fast, only taking only about an ounce of dry bread every eight to ten days. The food which miraculously sustained her, according to many witnesses, was the Eucharist alone, which she received every morning. She is said to have been able to predict the future, see distant events, read hearts and cure diseases. During the 1645 earthquakes and subsequent epidemics in Quito, she publicly offered herself as a victim for the city and died shortly thereafter.
St. Mariana's feast day is May 26. She is known as the Lily of Quito and is one of the Patron Saints of Ecuador.
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