12. Constitutions and Rules of the Beatas Indias (1726)

Abstract

In 1726, a Chinese mestiza woman named Ignacia del Espiritu Santo (1663–1748) sought ecclesiastical approval for a beaterio, or house of religious retreat for women, that she had founded in Manila. It was the first such community intended for women of native, sangley and mestizo origin. With the help of unnamed Jesuit collaborators, she composed a constitution for the community, called La Compañia, outlining criteria for admission and a series of requirements meant to structure the community’s life of prayer and austerity. Kathryn Santner places the text in the context of female religious life in colonial Manila.