Mother Leonor S. francisco

Born in Cural de Almuger e Mamantha, a village under the jurisdiction of Toledo, she was christened Leonor de S. Philip. Having professed at the Convento de Santa Isabel de Toledo (Toledo Saint Isabel's Convent) and being one of Mother Jeronima de la Asuncion's fellows, she left for Manila in 1620. The first abbess at the Convento de Santa Clara de Macau (Macau Saint Clare's Convent), of which she was also one of the founders, along with Mother Madalena de Vera Cruz, Mother Belchiora da Trindade, Margarida de la Concepcion, Clara de S. Francisco and Joana de la Concepcion, she negotiated with the ruling elite the foundation of that convent according to the rule of Pope Urban IV, which allowed the followers of Saint Clare of Assis to own property. She died in Macau in 1651.

Bibliography:
Cayetano Sanchez OFM, «La Madre Jeronima de La Asuncion y su Fundacion del Monasterio de Santa Clara de Manila. Incidencias y Consecuencias», Separata de «VERDAD Y VIDA», T.LII - 1994 - Núms. 205-206, Madrid. PENALVA, Elsa, «Mulheres em Macau 1633-1644», Actas do Colóquio Internacional Macau no Período Ming, Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau, I.P., 2007 (forthcoming).

Translated by: John Silva