In 1890 the organist Madre
Josefa del Sagrado took ill with a high fever and they discovered she was wearing a hair shirt tied
it so tightly that the cincture broke through the flesh and became infected. They tried to remove it but she had thrown away the key. They called in a doctor who removed it with surgical instruments scolding them severely. Her death could have been
prevented if they had only known. One afternoon the sacristan Hna. Francisca del
Santísimo Sacramento fell asleep in the choir loft and woke up not knowing where she was. She tried to find a way out, but got stuck and made such commotion the rest of the community thought a burglar had broken in. They found her poor corpulent form stuck in the choir grate. The
community baker. Madre Mariana Gil de Hoyos was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and spent the whole year baking sweet
breads in the shape of the heart of Jesus. These treats became
so popular with the public that it took eight serving girls to keep up with the demand. All proceeds went to the annual celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Madre Mariana died at 4:00 am on the morning after the
Feast of the Sacred Heart and all the church bells rang out in unison to announce her passing. Her successor Madre Luisa led the restoration after the exclaustration and was much sough after for spiritual healing. Before her death she experienced horrific hallucinations and community was sorely distressed thinking them sent by the devil. The beatas undertook such severe
discipline on her behalf that the choir had to be whitewashed. The floor was
covered with blood and even pieces of flesh![1]
[1]
(López 1877-1945), pp. 1-12
