Mariana de Paredes y Flores, who later adopted the name Mariana de Jesus, was born on October 31, 1618 in Quito, Ecuador (at the time, Ecuador was a part of Peru), to affluent Spanish parents. She was raised by her older sister and her husband after becoming an orphan as a young child.

Mariana became a hermit in her sister's house under the guidance of a Jesuit confessor because she was drawn to religion at a young age. Mariana had the gift of prophecy and lived a life of extreme penance, eating little and sleeping for only three hours each night for years. In addition, God bestowed upon His devoted servant unique mystical gifts to aid in her apostolate. She brought many sick people back to health by making the Sign of the Cross or by sprinkling holy water; she also brought a dead woman back to life.

She afterward clung to the Immaculate Virgin with boundless assurance and heartfelt affection. She was granted permission to take the three religious vows in recognition of her remarkable virtue and earned the Third Order habit from the Franciscans in her hometown of Quito, Ecuador. She went back to her house and lived a life hidden in God, full of prayer and fasting.

Only when she went to church or when it was necessary out of charity for a neighbor did Saint Mariana of Jesus leave her home. On these occasions, she charmed everyone she encountered, even the most vile, with her courteous and affable demeanor, and was successful in guiding them back to the righteous path.

She dedicated her pure young life as an offering to God for the sins of the populace when an earthquake and epidemic struck Quito in 1645. God approved of the offering. On May 26, 1645, not long after, she passed away at the age of 28.

After Saint Mariana died, a lovely lily bloomed from her blood, and she became known as the "Lily of Quito." She was canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII after being beatified by Pope Pius IX. Her feast day is celebrated on May 26th. She is the patroness of Ecuador, the Americas, physical ailments, parent loss, those who are rejected by religious orders, the ill, and disease.

Other Saints of the Day
Saint Matthew Phuong
Saint Dyfan
Saint Felicissimus
Saint Philip Neri
Saint Quadratus