St Mary Anne of Jesus lived a very short life, but she used that time to grow closer to God She was the youngest of eight children and was was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1614. She joined the Secular Franciscans and led a life of prayer and penance at home, leaving her parents’ house only to go to church and to perform some work of charity. She established in Quito a clinic and a school for Africans and indigenous Americans. When a plague broke out, she nursed the sick and died shortly thereafter. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950.