Today, at 2.30 pm. the Lord has finally called the Reverend Mother Gloria de la Resurrection, OP., to her rest. She was the foundress and the first prioress of the Dominican Monastery Mother of God in the Diocese of Kaohsiung. She is one of the heirs of the spiritual legacy of Venerable Sister Teresita del Nino Jesus Iriarte, OP., and Venerable Sister Teresa Maria de Jesus Ortega, OP., of the Olmedo Monastery. From 1977 till her dying day, she supervised the foundation and the formation of the first Dominican monastic community of the Chinese speaking world.

 Brief biography of the Reverend Mother Maria Gloria de Dios Lapiedra Bazan OP.

The founder and first prioress of the contemplative Dominicans in Taiwan, the Rev. Mother Maria Gloria de Dios Lapiedra Bazan. Spanish contemplative Dominica was born in Muel, Zaragoza Province on December 28, 1929. Orphaned by a mother at seven years of age, and by a father at nineteen. At 23 years old, she and four other companions entered as postulants for the Dominican Monastery of Madre de Dios in Olmedo, which at that time belonged to the Diocese of Avila. In 1977, at the request of the Bishop of Kaohsiung, Msgr. José Cheng Tien Hsiang OP, she came to Formosana Island with nine companions to found the Dominican Mother of God monastery in the Diocese, being the first prioress of the community. The foundation, first in the town of Taliao (Kaohsiung) and later in Wanchin (Pingtung), introduced the Dominican monastic tradition for the Chinese-speaking Church, since its foundation, it is offering prayers and sacrifices for the good of the local church and the needs of the Church in China. After laying the foundations with the apostolic dedication and care of a mother, she instilled in her companions and her daughters the contemplative ecclesial spirit inherited from her two great teachers, Venerable Teresita de Niño Jesus Iriarte OP and Venerable Teresa Maria de Jesús Pardo Ortega OP, true founders of Dominican monastic life and chosen souls, (whose causes of canonization are advanced). The intense prayer, poverty and self-sacrificing life has been a great lesson for all of us who, despite everything, always had a joy and goodness in their dealings with their sisters and people outside. In the last years of her earthly life, she patiently suffered deafness, illnesses of an advanced and precarious age, which continues to inspire veneration and love for those around her. She passed away on July 14, 2020 at the San José Catholic Hospital in Kaohsiung at 2.30 p.m. She was 91 years old, giving her whole soul to her Creator and Beloved. Aragonese by birth, Taiwanese for her mission, and her following of the beloved Christ; Her silence and testimony of love and dedication left its mark on the pages of our long history of missions in Formosa. May God have her in his peace and glory. The funeral mass will take place on July 20, 2020 Monday at 9:30 am in the convent church of the monastery. It will be chaired by the Bishop of Kaohsiung, Bishop Pedro Liu. Then, his remains will be cremated in the Fangliao Municipal Crematorium (Pingtung) and the ashes will return to the monastic complex to rest in the conventual columbarium of the nuns. (Taken from 天主教道明會天主之母隱修院)

May the Lord of Life receive her in His mercy and in His glory. Alleluia.

By Fr. Jarvis SY, OP.