February 11, 2024 / 11:10 AM
This Sunday, February 11, Pope Francis canonized Mama Antula, the first holy woman of Argentina. She is a brave consecrated laywoman of Ignatian spirituality who 240 years ago wrote a letter in which she narrated what she did with the Divine Child when the faithful prostrated themselves at her feet.
On the website mamaantula.comadministered by the Antoniana Family, in charge of promoting devotion to the saint, it is indicated that Mama Antula was born in Santiago del Estero (Argentina) in 1730. At that time this territory and much of South America were part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, where Santa Rosa de Lima and San Martín de Porres also lived.
In her youth, Mama Antula, who spoke Quechua, immersed herself in the evangelization of indigenous people guided by the spirituality of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. However, in 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from America.