Saint Mariana de Jesús de Paredes

Mariana de Jesús de Paredes y Flores was born in Quito on October 31, 1618, into a noble family. She was orphaned as a small child and raised by her older sister and brother-in-law. From an early age she was drawn to prayer, and instead of entering a convent she lived as a recluse in a small room of her family's home, under the spiritual guidance of the Jesuits, leaving the house mainly to attend Mass at their church. She joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and spent her days in prayer, penance, and teaching and helping the poor.

In 1645 Quito was struck by earthquakes and an epidemic. During a sermon in the Jesuit church, Mariana publicly offered her life to God for the people of the city. The earthquakes stopped and the epidemic eased, but she soon fell ill and died on May 26, 1645, at only 26 years old. Pope Pius XII canonized her in 1950, and in 1946 Ecuador's Constituent Assembly declared her a national heroine.

She is called "the Lily of Quito" because, according to tradition, after her death a white lily bloomed where the blood drawn from her during her last illness had been poured out. Her image is usually shown with lilies.

Ecuadorians affectionately call her "Santa Marianita," and many girls in Ecuador are named Mariana in her honor. On her day, schools and parishes in Quito remember her love for her city and for the poor.