Flowers for Mary
It all began as a promise to a dying friend. Remy Ignacio held the hand of Sister Ludgeris as she lay on her deathbed and asked, “What is worrying you? Is it your calendar?” The nun squeezed her hand. Remy went on, “Do you want me to continue it for you?” Unable to speak, the nun could only nod slightly. “OK, I will do it for you, Sister.” She would pass away three days later.
The sister was a German nun who produced calendars yearly as her apostolate for charity. Remedios Ignacio did not know the first thing about making a calendar. Letting go in full trust, the good Lord guided her and things simply fell into place.
As a young lady, she had dreamed of being an artist and hoped to enter the College of Fine Arts, but her parents advised her to put her efforts into something more practical, thus obtaining degrees in Pharmacy and Pharmacology.
After falling in love, marrying and having eight children, she did not become a pharmacist, instead devoting herself to being a wife and mother.
As her children grew to become professionals in their own fields (one of her sons is Msgr. Clemente Ignacio of the Archdiocese of Manila), she and her husband, Engr. Luis Ignacio, were deeply involved and greatly instrumental in the building of their parish, Santa Maria della Strada in Quezon City—upon the urging of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin.
She also headed the organization of the Family Rosary Crusade in Loyola Heights, clearly born out of her love for Our Lady. She was also very active in the organization of religious activities in Ateneo de Manila University, where her seven sons went to school, and being a supporter of the priests and seminarians there as well. She has become a motherly figure to so many that she has been lovingly called Mom Remy.
When her husband became ill, she would stay by his bedside and passed the time to explore her artistic gifts.
It would be another friend, the Franciscan nun Sister Josefa Reyes, who would teach her how to make art using the encaustic wax medium. She melted crayons in a tin can and would carefully pour this out on paper, creating vibrant botanical artworks. The thick medium allows also for the works to possess rich textures.
Remy was drawn to flowers—her healthy garden is evidence of this. She experimented in her art with many varieties of blooms; however, she seemed to be best at making roses—the symbol of the Blessed Mother.
She made cards with these artworks, or held exhibits as fundraisers for her parish, The eminent artist Mauro Malang Santos was so taken by them that he asked her to join their famous Saturday Group to teach fellow artists how to use the encaustic medium. Napoleon Abueva, the National Artist for Sculpture, would also compliment her work in admiration.
One day, she was inspired to take an existing image of the Virgin Mary and surround her with flowers. This was when she realized she could use these images for the calendar, calling it Flowers for Mary. She also fulfills her promise to Sr. Ludgeris in continuing her apostolate. Proceeds from the calendars fund the studies of seminarians and other worthy causes in aid of the church.
It’s been 25 years now that she has been doing this faithfully, annually. As she finishes one calendar, she is already preparing for the following year’s design. The results are always beautiful and inspired. She also innovates, and makes something new. This year, she incorporated images of Mary from the personal collection of Cardinal Chito Tagle, who has been a close friend to Remy since he was a student at The Loyola School of Theology. Cardinal Tagle has a collection of Marian images which he has received as gifts over the years.
Recently, Cardinal Chito, whose role at the Vatican is pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presented a copy of the 2025 calendar to Pope Francis who was delighted to receive it.
They come in a set of two desk calendars, the main one measuring 16 x 21 centimeters and the second one at 10 x 6.5 centimeters.
Asked how she thought of the idea of the smaller one, she said it was a shame to waste the nice paper that was trimmed off from the larger one. Not one to waste, she decided to print on this, too. The new calendar comes in two colors: cream such as the one presented to the Holy Father, and blue— the color of the Holy Mother.
It’s been said that God answers prayers with “yes,” “no” or “not yet.”
This is a story of “not yet” that bore fruit in God’s own time. Mom Remy’s art came forth at the perfect time, for the perfect purpose.
Being an instrument in doing the Lord’s work, it seems uncanny that Remedios Ignacio lives up to her name, the Ignatian Remedy.
