Saint Mama Antula
Argentine laywoman who kept the Spiritual Exercises alive after the Jesuits were expelled
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Virgin, Layperson
- Life
- 1730 – 1799
- Era
- 18th century
- Feast
- 7 March
- Countries
- Argentina
Life story
Mama Antula was born in 1730 at Silípica in Santiago del Estero, in present-day Argentina. At fifteen she resolved to give her life to God and lived with other women in a small community.
In 1767 King Charles III expelled the Jesuits from Spanish territories. Despite hostility toward the Jesuits, she worked to restore retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. From 1768 to 1770 she held retreats across the viceroyalty, including at Salavina and Atamasqui.
In September 1779 she went to Buenos Aires, where royal officials at first refused her the work. By 1780 her retreats in the city were succeeding, with the support of Archbishop Sebastián Malvar y Pinto. She also founded the Daughters of the Divine Saviour.
She died on 7 March 1799 in Buenos Aires, aged 69. She was beatified on 27 August 2016 at Santiago del Estero and canonised on 11 February 2024 at St Peter's Basilica, the first woman saint of Argentina.
Works and witness
- Gave her life to God from age 15
- Restored retreats of the Spiritual Exercises after the 1767 expulsion
- Held retreats across the viceroyalty, 1768 to 1770
- Held retreats in Buenos Aires from 1780
- Canonised on 11 February 2024
Saints from the same country
References
- Decrees of the Congregation/Dicastery for the Causes of Saints on María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa (2016, 2024)
- Holy See Press Office, canonisation of 11 February 2024
- Martyrologium Romanum (7 March)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.