. In the Philippines -

In 1621, a group composed of 10 nuns of the Franciscan Order arrived in Manila to establish the first convent in the country, the Convento de Santa Clara. Hidden in isolation within Intramuros and named after the Real Convento de Santa Clara of Spain, it was founded by Mother Geronima de la Asuncion, a relative of the Spanish monarch. Mother Geronima de la Asuncion belonged to a contemplative female branch of the Franciscan Order, popularly called "Poor Clares," after their foundress, St. Clare, a follower of St. Francis of Assisi. Following the rules of seclusion, the nuns built a 30-foot windowless wall that cut them from the city. The nunnery was dubbed "living death" because women who entered were never seen again by outsiders. The only signs of their existence were the chants that would waft through the monastery chapel during Mass and common prayers. The monastery is figured in Dr. Jose Rizal's novel "Noli Me Tangere," it was there that the hapless and tragic Maria Clara found refuge and met her end. During the last 30 years of her life, Mother Geronima lived in constant illness. In early September 1630, her health deteriorated. She died at dawn on October 22, 1630 at the age of 75. Mother Geronima's remains were first buried in a niche within a wall inside the monastery that she founded, but later experienced several relocations. The remains survived a bombing of the monastery during World War II. In the 1950s, her bones were finally placed permanently at the new monastery at Aurora Blvd. in Quezon City, on a site overlooking the Marikina Valley. However, the construction of the C-5 road forced the nuns to transfer their convent to a new site near their old monastery along with the remains of Mother Geronima.