A 13-year-old Filipino girl is on the road to sainthood. Her portrait was unveiled last Sunday, April 7, during which her beatification and canonization process officially started. But who is Niña Ruiz Abad?

She was raised surrounded by strong faith

On October 31, 1979, Niña was born in Quezon City to a lawyer couple from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Her mother, Atty. Corazon Ruiz Abad was the chief hearing officer Commission on the Settlement of Land Problems of the Department of Justice in 1988 and was a devotee of the Divine Mercy. After Niña’s father passed away when she was three, her mother raised her and her sister Mary Ann as pious, devoted young girls.

She was “the girl who always wore a rosary”

She was known for her strong faith. When asked to describe her, Bishop Renato Mayugba of Laoag said: “If one asks, ‘Do you know Niña Ruiz Abad?’ The answer would be, ‘That’s the girl who always wore a rosary. The girl who loved to pray. The girl who loves God so much’.”

She was an exceptional student

Niña transferred schools several times. She was a nursery student at the University of the Philippines Child Study Center in Diliman, Quezon City. Then, from kindergarten to grade two, she was enrolled at the Holy Angels Montessori School, Quezon City. In 1988, her family moved to Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, for her mother’s job.

Despite the multiple transfers, Niña graduated at the top of her class at the Mariano Marcos State University Laboratory Elementary School in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. For a year, she studied at the Mariano Marcos State University Laboratory High School before her family moved back to Quezon City in 1993. In Quezon City, she attended the School of the Holy Spirit until her death.

She suffered from a heart ailment

When she was ten, Niña was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, i.e., her heart muscles have thickened. In a video reenactment of her life, she was showed as a young child with a faith so strong that when faced with an incurable disease, she told her mother: “Don’t worry, Mommy; it’s okay — God will heal me!”

She was 13 when she died

A few years after receiving her diagnosis, Niña suffered a heart attack during class. She was brought to the hospital immediately, but she unfortunately passed away on 16 August 1993 at the tender age of 13.

She has become a “Servant of God”

Last year, Pope Francis declared her a Servant of God. This is the first of four steps in the lengthy process of making her a saint. It may take decades or even centuries, as the process entails an in-depth investigation into each candidate’s life, virtues and vices, and miracles.

She can be a good model to today’s Filipino youth

This is what the cause’s postulator Father Dennis Ruíz hopes she can be. “Many of the youth nowadays are preoccupied by technology, fashion, fun, pleasure and desire for worldly material things, which sometimes draw their attention away from healthy relationships, especially [relationships] to God,” he said. “Having a good model of piety and fortitude for the youth, they can be saved from utter destruction. Knowing Niña’s character and traits and her strong faith toward God will serve as a guide to the youth.”

She could be the third Filipino saint

Should she be successfully canonized as a saint, Niña will be one of the youngest saints in history and will also be the third Filipino saint after Lorenzo Ruiz (died 1637; canonized 1987) and Pedro Calungsod (died 1672; canonized 2012).

Other Filipinos who are currently candidates for sainthood are Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, founder of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (died 1748); Alfredo Maria Obviar, the first bishop of Lucena City (died 1978); Brother Richie Fernando, a 26-year-old Filipino Jesuit who sacrificed his life to save his Cambodian students (died 1996); and Darwin Ramos, a 17-year-old Filipino who was “deeply devoted to Jesus Christ despite suffering” (died 2012).

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