Narcisa de Jesús Martillo
Encyclopedia
Narcisa de Jesús Martillo y Morán (29 October 1832 – 8 December 1869) is a Roman Catholic saint
from Nobol
, Ecuador
. She was a laywoman
known for her charitable giving and strict devotion, becoming a consecrated virgin
. She was beatified
by Pope John Paul II on October 25, 1992 and canonized
on October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI. Today her body lies in repose at the Santuario de Santa Narcisa de Jesus Martillo y Morán in Nobol, Ecuador. Her feast day
is August 30.
from an early age and was confirmed on September 16, 1839 at the age of seven. She frequented a small wood near her home for prayer and contemplation in solitude. The guayabo
tree near which she prayed, is today the destination for large pilgrimage
s. She chose Saint Mariana de Jesus
as her patron
with whom she identified and strived to imitate.
After her father died in 1852, Narcisa moved to Guayaquil
at the age of 19 where she lived with a very prominent family. It is here where Narcisa began her mission of helping the poor and the sick and caring for abandoned children. She took a job as a seamstress to fund her mission as well as supporting her eight brothers and sisters. Narcisa then moved to the city of Cuenca
where she went from home to home, living with whoever would take her including the Blessed
Mercedes de Jesús Molina
to allow herself greater privacy for prayer and penance
.
In June 1868, Narcisa moved to Lima
, Peru
at the advise of a Franciscan
, where she lived as a lay person in the Dominican
convent
of Patrocinio. Here, Narcisa followed a demanding daily schedule of eight hours of prayer, offered in silence and solitude. In addition, she devoted four hours of the night to various forms of mortification
, including flagellation
and the wearing of a crown of thorns
. She fasted on bread and water and took the Eucharist
as her only forms of sustenance and was frequently seen in a state of ecstasy. Towards the end of 1869, Narcisa developed high fevers for which medical remedies could do little. She died on December 8, 1869.
Following Narcisa's death, the city of Lima acclaimed her as a saint, as did the people of Guayaquil and Nobol. The Dominican sisters of Patrocinio venerated
her by guarding the memory of her virtues and careful preservation of her body. In 1955, her practically uncorrupted body was transferred from Peru to Guayaquil, and in 1972 her remains were returned to Nobol. The documents of the diocesan process of canonization
were handed over to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
in 1964. Pope John Paul II beatified her on October 25, 1992. On August 22, 1998, a shrine in her honour was dedicated in Nobol, where her uncorrupt body remains to this day.
On January 19, 2007, the Congregation voted in favor of recognizing a miracle that took place through the then Blessed Narcisa’s intercession
, an important step in the canonization process. The case that was brought forth was that of Edelmina Arellano, who was cured from a congenital defect
in 1992 and was determined to be “unforeseen, complete, lasting, and scientifically inexplicable.” Edelmina was born without genital organs
, and at the age of 7 she was inexplicably cured after her mother took her to the shrine dedicated to Narcisa and prayed for her intercession. Later the same day, the child had an appointment with her doctor who testified that, suddenly and without any medical explanation, the girl was completely normal.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on October 12, 2008.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
from Nobol
Nobol
Nobol is a town located in central Guayas, Ecuador. It is the seat of Nobol Canton, created in 1992.As of the census of 2001, there are 14,753 people residing within the canton limits. The town is situated about 38.5 kilometres north of Guayaquil...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. She was a laywoman
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
known for her charitable giving and strict devotion, becoming a consecrated virgin
Consecrated virgin
In the Catholic Church a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been conscrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity in the service of God. Consecrated virgins are to spend their time in works of penance and mercy, in apostolic activity and in prayer, according to their state of life and...
. She was beatified
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
by Pope John Paul II on October 25, 1992 and canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
on October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI. Today her body lies in repose at the Santuario de Santa Narcisa de Jesus Martillo y Morán in Nobol, Ecuador. Her feast day
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
is August 30.
Biography
Narcisa de Jesús Martillo was born on October 29, 1832 in the small village of St. Joseph in Nobol, Daule, Ecuador. She was the sixth of nine children born to Peter Martillo and Josephine Morán, who were wealthy landowners. Her mother died in 1838 when she was the age of six and as result took up much of the domestic chores. She had a clear perception of her call to sanctitySacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
from an early age and was confirmed on September 16, 1839 at the age of seven. She frequented a small wood near her home for prayer and contemplation in solitude. The guayabo
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
tree near which she prayed, is today the destination for large pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
s. She chose Saint Mariana de Jesus
Mary Anne de Paredes
Saint Maryann of Jesus de Paredes, O.F.S., is a Roman Catholic saint and is the first person to be canonized from Ecuador. She was a hermit who is said to have sacrificed herself for the salvation of Quito. She was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1853 and canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950...
as her patron
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
with whom she identified and strived to imitate.
After her father died in 1852, Narcisa moved to Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
at the age of 19 where she lived with a very prominent family. It is here where Narcisa began her mission of helping the poor and the sick and caring for abandoned children. She took a job as a seamstress to fund her mission as well as supporting her eight brothers and sisters. Narcisa then moved to the city of Cuenca
Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca is the capital of the Azuay Province. It is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level...
where she went from home to home, living with whoever would take her including the Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Mercedes de Jesús Molina
Mercedes de Jesús Molina
Blessed Mercedes de Jesús Molina is a Roman Catholic blessed from Baba, Ecuador. She was a missionary who devoted her life to the care of abandoned children and founded the order of the Sisters of Mariana de Jesús...
to allow herself greater privacy for prayer and penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
.
In June 1868, Narcisa moved to Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
at the advise of a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
, where she lived as a lay person in the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of Patrocinio. Here, Narcisa followed a demanding daily schedule of eight hours of prayer, offered in silence and solitude. In addition, she devoted four hours of the night to various forms of mortification
Mortification of the flesh
Mortification of the flesh literally means "putting the flesh to death". The term is primarily used in religious and spiritual contexts. The institutional and traditional terminology of this practice in Catholicism is corporal mortification....
, including flagellation
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
and the wearing of a crown of thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
. She fasted on bread and water and took the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
as her only forms of sustenance and was frequently seen in a state of ecstasy. Towards the end of 1869, Narcisa developed high fevers for which medical remedies could do little. She died on December 8, 1869.
Canonization
Veneration
Veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: an angel, or a dead person who has been identified by a church committee as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches...
her by guarding the memory of her virtues and careful preservation of her body. In 1955, her practically uncorrupted body was transferred from Peru to Guayaquil, and in 1972 her remains were returned to Nobol. The documents of the diocesan process of canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
were handed over to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
Congregation for the Causes of Saints
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passing through the steps of a declaration of "heroic virtues" and beatification...
in 1964. Pope John Paul II beatified her on October 25, 1992. On August 22, 1998, a shrine in her honour was dedicated in Nobol, where her uncorrupt body remains to this day.
On January 19, 2007, the Congregation voted in favor of recognizing a miracle that took place through the then Blessed Narcisa’s intercession
Intercession
Intercession is the act of interceding between two parties. In both Christian and Islamic religious usage, it is a prayer to God on behalf of others....
, an important step in the canonization process. The case that was brought forth was that of Edelmina Arellano, who was cured from a congenital defect
Congenital disorder
A congenital disorder, or congenital disease, is a condition existing at birth and often before birth, or that develops during the first month of life , regardless of causation...
in 1992 and was determined to be “unforeseen, complete, lasting, and scientifically inexplicable.” Edelmina was born without genital organs
Sex organ
A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; flowers are the reproductive organs of flowering plants, cones are the reproductive...
, and at the age of 7 she was inexplicably cured after her mother took her to the shrine dedicated to Narcisa and prayed for her intercession. Later the same day, the child had an appointment with her doctor who testified that, suddenly and without any medical explanation, the girl was completely normal.
Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on October 12, 2008.