The Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM) congregation on Wednesday relaunched the cause for the beatification and canonization of their foundress, Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo.
The relaunch ceremony at the RVM Generalate Chapel in Quezon City was marked by a Mass presided over by Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan.
In his homily, he said progress in the sainthood cause should be measured not by documentation or statistics, but by visible signs of grace.
“This is also what we now await in the cause of the venerable Mother Ignacia—not so much new documents, but a clear and credible sign of God’s action through her intercession,” David said.
Describing Mother Ignacia as a model of faith rooted in humility and surrender amid uncertainty, the cardinal urged the congregation to continue her “fiat,” a free and faithful response to God’s will.
“You are not only remembering a text. You are celebrating a fiat—a yes that continues to live on in your community and ministry,” he added.
RVM Sr. Maria Anicia Co, theological consultant for the Ignacian Mission for Sainthood, said the cause was relaunched after previously submitted miracle claims failed to meet the standards of a medical review panel.
“We relaunched because the submitted miracles did not really pass the medical panel’s evaluation… by 2016, there seems to be a lull,” Co told Radio Veritas.
She said the process slowed due to a lack of new reports of miraculous healings, prompting the congregation to strengthen documentation and coordination efforts.
As part of the initiative, the RVM appointed vice postulators to oversee the cause, including Dr. Dave Cesar Dela Cruz for external affairs and Sr. Eloisa Marie Inocentes for internal affairs, along with other members of the Ignacian Mission for Sainthood.
Co said the relaunch also seeks to encourage broader participation among the faithful. “It’s not only Mother Ignacia for sainthood, but each one of us to become truly saints,” she said.
During the Mass, David administered the oath to members of the mission team supporting the cause.
Mother Ignacia, born in Manila in 1663, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary in 1684, the first pontifical congregation for women in the Philippines. She was declared venerable in 2007 in recognition of her heroic virtues.
