Providential encounter
Today, July 5, we remember with gratitude and affection the birth of Fr. Miguel San José Herranz, sj, a Jesuit priest whom the Lord placed on the path of Mother Candida Maria de Jesus to accompany her in the beginnings of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus.
Herranz was for Mother Candida a spiritual companion, a brother in the following of Jesus and a fundamental help in discovering and confirming her vocation. Providence would have it that their paths crossed in 1868, in Valladolid, in the church of San Felipe de la Penitencia. From that meeting, a relationship of deep trust and spiritual discernment was born, always oriented to seek the greater glory of God.
A fruitful spiritual accompaniment
From that time and its links, 209 letters written by Father Herranz to Mother Candida are preserved in our Archives. Unfortunately, her replies have not been preserved, but in one of the oldest autograph letters we have, dated September 22, 1872, the foundress shows on the one hand the closeness and affection with which she treats Father Herranz and also her strength and unshakable faith in the midst of difficulties:
My unforgettable Rev. Father: I received your letter, which gave me so much joy, on Saturday afternoon, and I could not read it until the next day because I went to bed in the middle of the afternoon, as I was so sick in the head and threw out the little food I had eaten, as you know. But don’t be frightened, for God is stronger than the devil. Don’t you think it’s a good sign when the enemy is angry? At least, I have no more pleasure than to see him in despair, and then I say: “Thank God, we are doing well, we are going ahead with great courage to wage war against hell. Who like God?” […] You cannot imagine how happy we all are, conforming ourselves to the will of God and His Most Holy Mother, in the hope that He will obtain for me what I ask of Him if it is for the greater glory of God; and, if not, may He give us conformity and strength with His most holy will.
The relationship between the two was not only one of spiritual direction (which is what spiritual accompaniment was called at that time), but also of working together to define the way of life of the Institute and to draw up its first Constitutions.. Father Herranz presided over the act of foundation on December 8, 1871 in Salamanca, imposing the habit on Mother Candida and the first companions.
M. Candida will say in another part of the letter: M. Candida, in another part of the letter:
I tell you again that we are very satisfied and happy. I tell you how I feel. You made me cry with the news of San Francisco. We are looking step by step, and we will see the hand of God, and we will be more affirmed by his divine finger. (…) Farewell, my Father, Ené! This is your daughter who wants to see you in the Heart of Jesus,
Friendship in God, fruits for the Kingdom
Miguel San José Herranz continue to inspire us to live with righteousness, firmness and goodness, as he knew how to do, always attentive to the voice of God and available to his will. His life and his friendship in the Lord with Mother Candida remind us how spiritual accompaniment and friendships born in God can bear abundant fruit for the Kingdom, sustaining paths, encouraging vocations and making possible the work that He dreams of for His Church.
Happy Birthday to Fr. Herranz in the Father’s House!
