The Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena is a Dominican congregation of religious sisters under the patronage of St. Catherine of Siena. It was founded by Father Juan de Sto. Domingo, OP and Mother Francisca del Espiritu Santo de Fuentes in 1696 for Spanish women only.
History
Francísca de Fuentes was a Spanish young widow in Manila, who devoted her time to prayer and helping the poor and sick. In 1682 she became a lay Dominican. Her date of birth is unknown.
In 1686, Francísca de Fuentes, Antonia de Jesús Esquerra, Maria Ana de la Vega (daughter of a cibuana) and Sebastiana Salcedo (native of Pasig) requested that they be allowed to live together in a community and live in a life of prayer and the practice of the virtues while continuing their social apostolateto Fr. Juan de Sta. Maria, the Prior of the Convent of Santo Domingo and Fr. Bartolome Marron, the ex-Prior. Fr. Juan de Sta. Maria sent a petition for a permit for the Beatas to live together in Community to the Very Rev. Master General of the Order, Rev. Fr. Antonino Cloche. The latter granted the petition, confirmed and approved that a House of the Sisters of the Third Order be established in the City of Manila, signed in the Convent of Sta. Maria de la Minerva in Rome on January 11, 1688, with the Confirmation of the Acts of the Province of the Holy Rosary with Fr. Bartolome Marron as Prior Provincial.
In 1690, due to some pressing needs Fr. Juan de Sta. Maria was sent to Bataan to learn the native language. Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo succeeded him as Prior of the Convent of Santo Domingo. Mother Francisca urged Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo about the Beaterio and because he was of contrary opinion he persistently answered “NO”. One day after hearing her confession, she came to press him again . In anger he told her that she was “impertinente” and would not give in to his reasons. With courage, Francisca answered him in these words: “Fr. Prior, the Beaterio will be constructed and Your Reverence will see it.” He was opposed to it considering how much is needed to sustain a community, however small it is. Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo, upon hearing such words of determination, got confused and could not say anything. The next day, after hearing her confession, he asked her, whether what she told him with such determination was a revelation or a dictate of the Holy Spirit. Mother Francisca remained quiet.
Initially, the new local director of the Third Order, Rev. Juan de Santo Domingo was not enthusiastic, but later came to reconsider and gave his approval. As testified by Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo everything happened as she had said it would, and saw so much of it that actually he did everything. And the Lord willed that he finished the passageway to San Juan de Letran.
In God’s design, Mother Sebastiana died in 1692 and Mother Antonia in 1694. They did not live to see the Beaterio established in 1696 as they predicted. Nevertheless, they, with Mother Francisca are considered the nucleus of the Foundation of the Beaterio.
In 1693 July, three years before the formal foundation of the Beaterio, the two professed Beatas, Francisca de Fuentes and Antonia de Fuentes had manifested their concern for the temporal needs of their association.
Soon after the death of Mother Antonia, Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo gave the habit to Lorenza Lopez and Juana de Sma. Trinidad. So the three beatas, including Mother Francisca, lived in that house as in a convent, thus laying the foundation of the Beaterio.
At first, Francísca and her companions lived in the house of Antonia de Esguerra who had by then died. On 26 July 1696 the Beaterio de Sta. Catalina de Sena de las Hermanas de Penitencia de la Tercera Orden was definitively established with the profession of vows of Mother Francisca and nine (9) other Beatas. Francísca de Fuentes was named prioress and took the name Mother Francisca del Espiritu Santo.
There were other young women who asked to be admitted like: Jacinta, of Spanish-Japanese descent. At this point, there were already five Beatas. With the assurance of Fr. Gregorio Giraldez, the Procurator General, he procured a house adjoined to the first, renovated it to become the oratory where the Beatas could assemble together to pray. As. Fr. Juan de Sto. Domingo stated, ‘the Beaterio was being formed without the intention of founding it, and the things of God come to light.”