Thousands of Filipinos have turned out to celebrate the canonization of Spanish Saint Candida Maria de Jesus, who founded the Daughters of Jesus.

“The Church is thankful for the fruits of her holiness, including the youths who were educated in schools founded by her congregation,” Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila said at a Manila celebration on Oct. 18.

Saint Candida was one of six people canonized by Pope Benedict XVI a day earlier. They included  Stanislaw Soltys Kazimierczyk, Andre (Alfred) Bessette, Mary Helen MacKillop, Giulia Salzano and Battista (Camilla) Varano.

About 3,000 students, teachers, parents, alumni, faculty, friends, benefactors and members of the Daughters of Jesus attended a thanksgiving Mass at the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.

Sister Lina Cornelio, who joined the Daughters of Jesus in 1964,  described Saint Candida as a model for her congregation. “We will continue to emulate her as our model. It is a call for all of us to be holy,” she said.

Thanksgiving Masses were also held at the San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City, St. Elizabeth Metropolitan Cathedral in Iloilo City, and Metropolitan Cathedral in Cebu City on Oct. 18.

Saint Candida was born and baptized as Juana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola on May 31, 1845, in Andoain, Guipuzcoa, Spain. At a young age, she left her hometown to work in Castilla to augment the family income.

She founded the Congregation of the Hijas de Jesús in Salamanca on Dec. 8, 1871. Mother Candida died on Aug. 9, 1912, in Salamanca. She was beatified on May 12, 1996.

The Daughters of Jesus are dedicated to the education of women and young people. The congregation is present in 16 countries, with 11 schools and several communities in the Philippines.

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