Next December 7, the Catholic Church in Ecuador will be celebrating when one of its saints, Narcisa de Jesús, is declared patron saint of the Diocese of Daule, where her hometown is located.
The ceremony will be presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Ecuador, Mons. Andrés Carrascosa, and concelebrated with the country’s bishops. More than ten thousand faithful from all over the country are expected to arrive at the Hacienda San José to participate in the Mass that will begin at 9 in the morning.
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The Bishop of Daule, Bishop Cristóbal Kudlawiec, explained to the media that during the ceremony the apostolic nuncio will make the announcement that Saint Narcissa is the patron saint of the diocese.
“His virtues are so clear, they are so visible, that it is not difficult to imagine that I can also do the same. “We want to offer people a chance to say ‘you can be a saint too,’” said the prelate of Polish origin.
“Our diocese has been blessed by the Lord to have a saint who was born in these lands and who offers us a firm example of a pilgrimage towards holiness. “I invite all the faithful, especially young people, to follow the example of humility, dedication and devotion of Saint Narcisa of Jesus, whose legacy lives on in our time,” he added.
In order to be spiritually prepared, the Santa Narcisa de Jesús National Sanctuary has created a novena that can download here.
The life of Saint Narcisa de Jesús
Saint Narcisa de Jesús was born in 1832 in the canton of Nobol, located in the current Diocese of Daule, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Guayaquil.
The future saint received Confirmation at the age of seven and was a great devotee of Saint Mariana de Jesús, the first Ecuadorian saint.
Narcisa dedicated her time to prayer and penance, living from her work as a seamstress. In addition, he helped the poor and sick.
Being orphaned by both parents, she went to Guayaquil at the age of 19, where she lived until 1868, when she embarked to Lima to live as a lay boarder in the Dominican convent of Patrocinio. He died in the capital of the then Viceroyalty of Peru on December 8, 1869.
She was beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1982 and canonized by Benedict XVI in 2008.
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Prensa I have been sent to cover Pope Francis’ trips to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synodality Synod in the Vatican in 2023.