Nun behind Good Shepherd’s iconic ube jam passes away at 102
The Good Shepherd nun who was the “mastermind” behind the congregation’s iconic ube jam in Baguio City has passed away on Saturday, March 20.
According to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News, Sr. Fidelis Atienza died at the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS) Community in Quezon City after 66 years of religious life. She was 102.
Atienza, who entered the Noviciate of the Good Shepherd in Los Angeles, California, was credited by the RGS as the person behind the congregation’s ube jam, a staple pasalubong for guests of Baguio City. The CBCP News reported that the sales of the ube jam enabled the congregation “to send thousands of youths to school.”
She was transferred to Good Shepherd Community in Quezon City after she celebrated her 100th birthday in 2020.
“She dedicated each moment of her day praying for the needs of the Church and the Congregation,” the RGS said. “She would ask her caregivers to bring her to the oratory day in and day out, spending most of her hours in quiet communion with the Good Shepherd whom she adored all her life. The children in the compound were very fond of their oldest playmate; she was a delight and a source of joy to everyone whom she met.”
In 2019, the Good Shepherd ube jam made the news after the congregation changed its color from purple to white, citing lack of supply of purple yam.
Banner photo from CBCP News, Philippine Star