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Mama Antula, the Jesuit who didn't want to marry or be a nun, will be Argentina's first female saint
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Rita Canteros walks out of a parish church carrying a painting of María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, more commonly known by her Quechua name of “Mama Antula,” on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. The canonization of “Mama Antula” in a Feb. 11th ceremony to be presided by Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica marks the first time a female from Argentina will become saint. - photo by AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A Catholic laywoman who lived in 18th-century Argentina and joined the Jesuits in their evangelical mission throughout the South American country will become the first female saint from the home country of Pope Francis on Sunday. María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, more commonly known by her Quechua name of “Mama Antula,” was born in 1730 into a wealthy family in Santiago del Estero, a province north of Buenos Aires. At the age of 15, she left the comfortable life of her home and the privileges of her family to join the Jesuits — at a time when women’s options were limited to marriage or joining a convent.