The creator of the famous Baguio City delicacy Good Shepherd ube jam, Sr. Fidelis Atienza, died on Saturday.
She was 102.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said she passed away at the Religious of the Good Shepherd Community in Quezon City after “66 years of religious life”.
“She never considered herself ill or infirmed. Her hands were never weary, as she was still helping turn plastics into eco-bricks until her shoulders ached from too much pushing of plastic into the plastic bottles,” the Religious of the Good Shepherd posted on Facebook on Saturday.
“For the soul, lots of prayers. And for my skin, only Cetaphil,” she happily replied at one time when asked about her beauty secret, referring to a skin care brand.
It was in the 1960s when Batangas City native Atienza established the Marian Bakery and created crispies, the forerunner of the angel cookies, also a bestseller.
In 1976, she introduced the ube jam (purple yam).
“She was the original mastermind behind the ube jam, enabling the congregation to send thousands of youths to school,” according to her congregation.
Atienza entered the Novitiate of the Good Shepherd in Los Angeles, California in 1951.
Aside from Baguio, her other ministries included dozens of community apostolate in Cebu, Quezon City, Hong Kong, France, Rome, and Tagaytay.
In 2020, she was transferred to the Good Shepherd Community in Quezon City.
Her remains are at the chapel of Good Shepherd Convent on Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City but wake and services are private. Inurnment will be at Good Shepherd Columbary, to be announced on a later date. (PNA)
Photo Credit: facebook.com/goodshepherdbaguio
