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| Abbreviation | Filiae Iesu (F.I.) |
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| Formation | 8 December 1871 |
| Type | Catholicreligious institute |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
Key people | St.Candida Maria of Jesus, F.I. – foundress |
| Website | www.hijasdejesus.org |
TheDaughters of Jesus (Latin:Filiae Iesu, abbreviated as F.I.,Spanish:Hijas de Jesús) is aRoman Catholiccongregation ofReligious Sisters founded on 8 December 1871 inSalamanca,Spain, byCandida Maria of Jesus (1845–1912). Known asJesuitinas (orJesuitesses) in Spain, their work is primarily educational, and includes the administration of schools and colleges. The congregation is devoted to education in all its forms, and is inspired by the spirituality ofIgnatius of Loyola, also offering the IgnatianSpiritual Exercises to women and girls.[1]
Candida, bornJuana Josefa Cipitria y Barriola in theBasque town ofAndoain,Gipuzkoa, went to Salamanca as a young girl to help support her family. She worked as a servant in various homes.[2] Cipitria was deeply affected, however, by the depth of poverty she saw in a society undergoing the social effects of theIndustrial Revolution in her country. She would spend whatever free time she had helping the poor, even at the risk of losing her employment.
Seeking to find God's will for herself in this, Cipitria said she was led to founding this congregation through a vision of Jesus she experienced onGood Friday of 1869. Two years later, together with five other women, the congregation was established, at which time the foundress, like her companions, took the religious name by which she is now known. They were assisted in this byJesuit priest Miguel José Herranz.[1]
The congregation expanded rapidly in Spain, receiving approval byPope Leo XIII in 1902. Within ten years, the foundress was able to begin their first foreign mission in Brazil, founding a school there.[1] This was later followed by a mission to China in 1931, and to the Philippines in 1932.[2]
Since then, the sisters of the congregation have continued their work ofevangelization through education, and today can be found in 17 countries.[3] In addition to Spain they include:Argentina,Bolivia,Brazil,Colombia,Cuba,China, theDominican Republic,Italy,Japan,Mozambique,Philippines,Taiwan andVenezuela.[4]
The foundress wasbeatified in 1996 byPope John Paul II, along with another early member of the congregation,María Antonia Bandrés Elósegui. Candida wascanonized byPope Benedict XVI in 2010.[2]
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