The Convent of the Blessed Sacrament in Baguio City, Philippines during the war (WWII)

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The events are described in a report by the superior, Sr. M. Joachima, in June 1945.  She had to take over responsibility for the convent after the two Americans Srs. M. Leonarda, the superior and M. Theophila, her assistant had been taken away by the Japanese.  She tells the bad injury sustained by Sr. M. Canisia, the swine fever in their own piggery, the worries about ensuring a daily supply of food, the loyalty of the mayor of Baguio, Mr. Mitra, and making provision for future possible needs.  The sisters were not scrupulous.  They managed to get a dozen trees sewed down for fuel.  When they could not get people to bring in the timber they did it themselves:  "First they hesitated, then we took permission to enlarge the enclosure." says the report.  They knew that the "war money" was losing value day by day so they bought and laid up sore of vegetables, sweet potatoes, bananas, eggs, beans, maize, dried fish, etc.  For the vow ceremony they did not want to bake a cake but, states the report, "God sent it" - also "200 fresh eggs, fresh meat and a nice parcel with money."  Then the military began to fortify Baguio.  Many private families had to leave their houses.  Many convents were occupied by soldiers.  The Japanese were thinking of using the adoration convent as headquarters but decided the rooms were too small.  The officers cautioned them about remaining in the middle of the military zone but the Sisters decided to stay anyway.  They simply had to economize on space in order to take in other evacuated people, 26 in all.  Bombs fell and destroyed the market place.  The Sisters erected an air-raid shelter.  On the feast day of the Blessed Founder a bomb fell near the convent church:  "Many window panes were broken, parts of the windows fell out of their frames and the main door could no longer be closed.  Otherwise there was no damage.  The lovely statues of Our Lady and St. Joseph were untouched.  Gradually the evacuees, lay and religious, left the convent.

 

 

On 31 January 1945 there was a heavy bombardment and the air-raid shelters of the Sisters were hit on three sides by machine-gun fire.  For a long time the superior could not make up her mind whether to go or stay.  Then Tuba, a place 6 km from Baguio, was suggested to them as a place of refuge.  There were unoccupied living quarters.  The Japanese had left.  The nuns felt Tuba was the safest place.  The superior let the Sisters decide for themselves whether they wanted to move to Tuba or stay in Baguio.  Twelve members of the community said they would go to Tuba - the other eleven stayed in Baguio.  The house in Baguio was damaged by the artillery fire.  But the Sisters provided the others in Tuba with food.  They continued with their usual daily routine to the extent the air-raid warnings permitted them - but more intensively.  They moved between bunker, work place and chapel.  They no longer had a priest or Holy Mass.  The link between the convent and Baguio was broken, but not with Tuba.  The superior who had at first remained in Baguio but then moved to Tuba returned to Baguio again on 5 March with four Sisters to pick up provisions.  They returned to Tuba the same evening.  Concerning the next day she reports:

 

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"Next morning the first three hours of the day were devoted as usual to the service of the Lord - community morning prayer, meditation, Holy Mass with Communion.  After breakfast we prayed the rosary, did spiritual reading and the second meditation for half an hour.  Normally it was nine o'clock before we were finished.  The weather was lovely and most of the Sisters were outside.  It was my custom to make this half an hour meditation on my kneed before the relic of the True Cross.  Today Sr. M. Prudentiana and Sr. M Eucharistiana were kneeling at my side.  The skies were unusually busy.  I thought of our good Sisters in Baguio and blessed them with the relic of the Cross.  It never dawned on me that on this particular day we ourselves would be needing the blessing of the Cross.  Not far away we heard the sound of machine guns.  Then something terrible happened.  There was a terrible bang, a mighty suction of air and the house began to shudder and shake.  I read - and I will never forget it - loud screams which lasted for several seconds.  Then all was still.  I was unscathed.  In a minute I was in the open - I just don't know how I managed to crawl through the debris of the bombed-out kitchen.  Good Lord, is it a dream or reality!  I am standing over the body of Sr. M. Caridad.  She must have been killed on the spot.  I had a bottle of holy water in my pocket.  I blessed Sr. M. Caridad and then I knew from a gentle groan that she was still alive.  Out loud I began to say an act of perfect contrition.  O my God, I love you with all my heart and I am sorry for having offended you for you are so good.  I had no time to think or reflect.  I believe it was the guardian angels who inspired me to do this because their dying charges would best hear and grasp the act of contrition which they must have said thousands of times in the quarter-hour prayer.

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Three steps farther on I saw the good Sr. M. Sebastiana.  One eye had been blown out, he other was closed.  She was still alive and was groaning softly, otherwise motionless and unconscious.  I sprinkled her with holy water and made the sign of the cross on her lips.  I went on.  The next body I found was that of Sr. M. Paula.  She had just gone up the four steps to the kitchen when she was struck down.  Like a sacrificial lamb she lay on her back, hands folded across her breast, clothing smooth down to her feet.  The eyes were closed, she was groaning softly.  There was no sign of injury.  Having prayed the act of contrition I went on.  I saw Sr. Ysip.  Her eyes were wide open and I could see she was conscious.  A flicker of joy brightened her face and it seemed as if there was a question or request on her lips.  But she could not speak and made no movement.  The right foot was completely broken off above the ankle.  I found Sr. M. Angeles and Sr. M. Venezuela as if they were peacefully sleeping sideways, faces resting on their arms, motionless and without any sign of life.  I was completely alone.  I prayed loudly and sprinkled holy water in all directions.

More bombs fell nearby.  I heard the sound of machine guns.  All the other Sisters had fled into the shelters we had dug under the house a few days before.  Worried about her charges, Sr. M. Paulina came out after a while.  She was baffled by what had happened.  "Sister M. Caridad, Sister Valenzuela, Sister Ysip.  Lord, your will be done even if I don't understand it."  She dragged me to the shelter some distance from the house under two boulders.  "Sister M. Joachima, you too will be killed.  Can't you hear the rattle of the machine guns?"  Overcome with pain and grief we rested for a while.  But I could not endure it any longer and ran back.  Sister M. Sebastiana was dead and the eyes of Sister Ysip were closed in their last sleep.  Sr. M. Paula was still breathing.  Anxiously I gazed into the distance to see if I could see our chaplain coming.  I saw him coming out of the undergrowth; I shouted and waved.  He came up the hill as quickly as he could.  He administered absolution and the sacrament of the sick.  Only Sr. M. Paula was still alive.  I supported her head with my hands.  She gave a deep sigh and returned her soul to her Creator.  Srs. M. Engelharda, M. Rosaria. M. Pacis and M. Eucharistiana were covered with blood.  So far, I had not been with the Sisters in the shelter.  

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I asked Sr. Una, a Maryknoll Sister, to help the wounded and bandage their wounds.  She returned soon again and said other Sisters were not so bad.  Only Sr. M. Reparatrix complained about terrible pain and believe she would die soon.  Gregorio, our faithful servant, carried her in his arms to a safer place.  Sr. M. Reparatrix said she was not wounded.  But Sr. Una found a wound under her ribs.  She was probably hit by a machine gun bullet; she had to get medical attention as soon as possible.  Doctors from Baguio were in Atap, at least half an hour away.  Dr. Rivera came - his wife was well aquainted with Sr. Ysip.  Marcelino, Sr. Eucharistina's brother and other men accompanied him.  They brought a lot of operations equipment with them.  But first let us return to our beloved departed Sisters.  Rev. Father Urban was already there and Brother Alfons and Father Gutierrez, a Dominican, came soon afterwards.

All stood at the scene of the tragedy as if paralyzed.  Since the dead were exposed to the sun we first carried them to a shady place and lined them up in a row.  Brother Alfons, a professor and chemist, knew all about bombs and told us that these bombs were of the worst kind.  The great pressure could tear human bodies apart.  We notice this as we carried the bodies.  It was a miracle that we were not all killed.  Now the men looked for a place to bury the dead.  The bomb which had hit the ground about 20 meters from the house displaced enough earth to form a grave.  The hole had only to be widened somewhat at the bottom.  In the meantime I went to an upstairs room of the house to fetch blankets.  I got shock.  A heap of mattresses piled in the corner had caught fire.  Not a drop of water was in the house.  Several mattresses, pillows, and blankets were burnt but, thank God, the food and laundry were spared.  In the meantime the grave was ready and we prepared our beloved dead for burial.  Poor children!  You died like soldiers on the field of battle, like soldiers you will be buried.  So we covered them with sheets.  We carefully laid the bodies on boards and placed them side by side.  One after the other the two priest carried them to the grave.  Deeply moved, they recited the funeral prayers.  The priests and the Brother filled in the grave.  Of all the Sisters only Sr. M. Paulina and I were present.  It was just as good.  It would have been to much for the others.  We knelt a little longer at the grave.  Everything was simple, very simple, but we did our best.

 

 

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Now we devoted ourselves entirely to the good Sr. M. Reparatrix. Brother Alfons carried her in his arms and put her lying on a bed.  She received the sacrament of penance, the sacrament of the sick and papal blessing and the indulgence for the dying.  The little nun was well prepared.  The doctor came and began the operation.  While Sister Una stood near hear head with the ether bottle I knelt at her side and whispered aspirations and other prayers.  She remained fully conscious and sometimes nodded, especially when I mentioned the great intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It soon became obvious to the doctor that there was no hope; internal lesion would soon lead to death.  And indeed sooner than we expected she quietly fell asleep in the Lord.  Thus, Sr. M. Reparatrix too became a victim to the Lord.  The men dug another grave near the big one and, first first thing in the morning, after Fr. Urban insisted on helping to be bring the body to the grave, saying the prayers and filling in the grave.  Lord, may she rest in peace."

Sr. M. Joachima added this sentence to the report: "God claimed a great sacrifice.  As Fr. Guttierex said, he wished that seven native Philippines would offer their lives for their native country so that the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit would abundantly pour down on it."  The deceased were: four professed Sisters: M. Paula, M. Sebastiana, M. Reparatrix, and M. Angeles; a novice: M. Caridad, and two postulants: Lydia Ysip and Remedios Venezuela.

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Sr. M. Paula, Trinidad Lazo, was the second eldest Philippine Sister.  The child of a very good Catholic family from Vigan, at the age of 18 she entered in Lipa on 19 June 1931.  The family wanted her to be a doctor but she herself preferred to spend her life a contemplative sister.  She was killed while working in the kitchen.

Sr. M. Sebastiana, Asuncion Altamirano, was a native of Lipa.  She was 27 and with a college education when she entered the local adoration convent on 3 June 1932.  She felt completely happy there.  As the chronicle puts it: "Retiring and friendly by nature, she was pleasant companion both at work and at play.  Her youthful, hearty laugh worked like a tonic on others.  Though she spent most of her time in the kitchen she found time to exercise her many other talents.

Sr. M. Reparatrix, Maria Abad, was from San Juan, La Union.  Before entered (14.8.1936) she was a teacher.  She was accepted into the convent in Lipa but her father stubbornly refused to give his permission, so she had to wait till after his death.  The eldest of three postulants in Baguio, she received the habit on 8 May 1398.  The eldest of the three postulants in Baguio, she received the habit on 8 May 1938.  The chronicles remarks: "Very soon the small, lively Sr. Abad - despite her homesickness - felt very much at home with us."  Her main place of work was the sewing room.  The air-raid on January gave her such a shock that she never got over it.  Her own cell was badly damaged.  So, though with heavy heart, she volunteered to be among the first group of Sisters to move to Tuba.  On the way she said to herself: "I simply can't, I will go back,"  and on 5 March she asked 

22 minutes ago, graciandelamadrededios said:

Now we devoted ourselves entirely to the good Sr. M. Reparatrix. Brother Alfons carried her in his arms and put her lying on a bed.  She received the sacrament of penance, the sacrament of the sick and papal blessing and the indulgence for the dying.  The little nun was well prepared.  The doctor came and began the operation.  While Sister Una stood near hear head with the ether bottle I knelt at her side and whispered aspirations and other prayers.  She remained fully conscious and sometimes nodded, especially when I mentioned the great intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It soon became obvious to the doctor that there was no hope; internal lesion would soon lead to death.  And indeed sooner than we expected she quietly fell asleep in the Lord.  Thus, Sr. M. Reparatrix too became a victim to the Lord.  The men dug another grave near the big one and, first first thing in the morning, after Fr. Urban insisted on helping to be bring the body to the grave, saying the prayers and filling in the grave.  Lord, may she rest in peace."

Sr. M. Joachima added this sentence to the report: "God claimed a great sacrifice.  As Fr. Guttierex said, he wished that seven native Philippines would offer their lives for their native country so that the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit would abundantly pour down on it."  The deceased were: four professed Sisters: M. Paula, M. Sebastiana, M. Reparatrix, and M. Angeles; a novice: M. Caridad, and two postulants: Lydia Ysip and Remedios Venezuela.

correction: hus, Sr. M. Reparatrix too became a victim for the Lord.  

 

Just now, graciandelamadrededios said:

Sr. M. Paula, Trinidad Lazo, was the second eldest Philippine Sister.  The child of a very good Catholic family from Vigan, at the age of 18 she entered in Lipa on 19 June 1931.  The family wanted her to be a doctor but she herself preferred to spend her life a contemplative sister.  She was killed while working in the kitchen.

Sr. M. Sebastiana, Asuncion Altamirano, was a native of Lipa.  She was 27 and with a college education when she entered the local adoration convent on 3 June 1932.  She felt completely happy there.  As the chronicle puts it: "Retiring and friendly by nature, she was pleasant companion both at work and at play.  Her youthful, hearty laugh worked like a tonic on others.  Though she spent most of her time in the kitchen she found time to exercise her many other talents.

Sr. M. Reparatrix, Maria Abad, was from San Juan, La Union.  Before entered (14.8.1936) she was a teacher.  She was accepted into the convent in Lipa but her father stubbornly refused to give his permission, so she had to wait till after his death.  The eldest of three postulants in Baguio, she received the habit on 8 May 1398.  The eldest of the three postulants in Baguio, she received the habit on 8 May 1938.  The chronicles remarks: "Very soon the small, lively Sr. Abad - despite her homesickness - felt very much at home with us."  Her main place of work was the sewing room.  The air-raid on January gave her such a shock that she never got over it.  Her own cell was badly damaged.  So, though with heavy heart, she volunteered to be among the first group of Sisters to move to Tuba.  On the way she said to herself: "I simply can't, I will go back,"  and on 5 March she asked 

correction: Thus, Sr. M. Reparatrix too became a victim for the Lord.  

 

 

Sr. M. Paula, Trinidad Lazo, was the second eldest Philippine Sister.  The child of a very good Catholic family from Vigan, at the age of 18 she entered in Lipa on 19 June 1931.  The family wanted her to be a doctor but she herself preferred to spend her life a contemplative sister.  She was killed while working in the kitchen.

Sr. M. Sebastiana, Asuncion Altamirano, was a native of Lipa.  She was 27 and with a college education when she entered the local adoration convent on 3 June 1932.  She felt completely happy there.  As the chronicle puts it: "Retiring and friendly by nature, she was pleasant companion both at work and at play.  Her youthful, hearty laugh worked like a tonic on others.  Though she spent most of her time in the kitchen she found time to exercise her many other talents.

Sr. M. Reparatrix, Maria Abad, was from San Juan, La Union.  Before entered (14.8.1936) she was a teacher.  She was accepted into the convent in Lipa but her father stubbornly refused to give his permission, so she had to wait till after his death.  The eldest of three postulants in Baguio, she received the habit on 8 May 1398.  The eldest of the three postulants in Baguio, she received the habit on 8 May 1938.  The chronicles remarks: "Very soon the small, lively Sr. Abad - despite her homesickness - felt very much at home with us."  Her main place of work was the sewing room.  The air-raid on January gave her such a shock that she never got over it.  Her own cell was badly damaged.  So, though with heavy heart, she volunteered to be among the first group of Sisters to move to Tuba.  On the way she said to herself: "I simply can't, I will go back,"  and on 5 March she asked to accompany the group that went back to Baguio for provisions but did not go.  When the bomb fell the next morning at 9:00 a.m. in Tuba she was inside the house.  A bomb fragment hit her in the back and penetrated her liver and other organs.  It could be seen protruding on the other side under the skin.  It was 3:00 p.m. before the doctor came.  He removed the piece of steel; but it was too late.  Before she died Fr. Urban heard her confession and administered the last rites.

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Sr. M. Angeles, Aurora Tioseco, entered in Baguio on 14 August 1936.  She was 25.  She was the eldest of her family and accustomed to asserting her authority.  She found obedience and subjection in the convent a great burden but she learnt to overcome her feelings.  It was said of her that she was "humble of heart."  She loved praying much and used every chance she could to practice penance and mortification.  She made her first profession on 8 May 1940.  She never made her final profession.  About her death the chronicle states: "When cruel death knocked her over unexpectedly on 6 March 1945 she was holding her hand that lovely English meditation book "Vigil."  No external wounds could be seen.  The terrible air pressure which her heart could not withstand must have killed her instantly.  She looked so natural, as if she were sleeping."

Sr. M. Caridad, Marcelina Lainez, entered Baguio on 21 June 1941.  She was 30 years old and a teacher.  She had to wait ten years to get permission from her parents to enter.  Settling down was not a problem for her.  The chronicle notes: "She was willing to make sacrifices, modest and undemanding.  At all times she demonstrated a great respect and obedience for the prescriptions of our rule.  As a Novice Sr. M. Caridad had to do much work she had never turned her hand before.  But she was willing, trustworthy and faithful.  You could depend on her."  On 21 November 1944 she completed her second year of novitiate.  But since the superior and official novice mistress were absent she was advised to put her profession off until May.  The chronicle graphically describes her death wounds:  Above her brow we saw 2-cm-wide wound stretching from temple to temple.  The back of her head was completely crushed."

 

 

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Lydia Ysip (b,30.1.1919 in Cabiao) was still a postulant when she died.  Her father was a judge and a man of upright character.  Lydia was a chemistry student.  After her studies she wanted to become a nun but her father advised her to wait and think the matter over for some time.  So she became a teacher.  In 1943 she applied to enter Baguio and entered on 23 November.  The obituary states: "From the moment of her entry she was a model of religious detachment and recollection.  In every respect her behavior was exemplary."  She gave harmonium lessons.  No work was too much or too difficult for her.  She was simple and undemanding and was immensely happy about the coming day of her investiture on May 8.  When she was found after the bombing she seemed to be still alive but made no movement.  One foot had been torn off.  The cause of death was probably the strong air pressure of the exploding bomb.

The postulant Remedios Venezuela was the daughter of a respected landowner in Pangasinan.  Born on 24 April 1919, she studied at the Holy Spirit College in Manila and togethen with Lydia Ysip on 21 November 1943 entered the convent in Baguio.  Though as the only child of the family she was "somewhat spoilt" she soon began to cope with convent life.  Because of her friendly disposition she was loved by all.  She often volunteered for extra work.  She loved nature.  The air-raid attacks terrified the somewhat fearful postulant so much she also asked to go to Tuba which was reckoned to be safer.  The she died.  The obituary states: "A large pice of metal struck her on the breast which became a great open wound.  A locket containing a relic of the Little Flower which she always carried round her neck had sunk into the wound and was now filled with blood.  But the thin face - which didn't show the slightest trace of injury - glowed with the most profound peace." 

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This convent is the old Convent of the Pink Sisters when they relocated to Baguio from Lipa.  

After the war they transferred to another location but still within Baguio City.