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S. MARIA ANISIA VILLARUZ BOLAÑO, RVM
(March 31, 1933 – November 02, 2017)
S. Maria Anisia Bolaño was born in Capiz, Capiz on March 31, 1933 to Jose Bolaño and Paz Villaruz and was baptized on the same year. Her mother was a public school teacher who later dedicated herself to taking care of her children. Her father was a mechanic in his father’s shop. Both her parents grew up in a healthy, happy and united family.
S. Maria Anisia’s family was that of a happy one, too. S. Maria Anisia claimed that love reigned in their home. They are six children - four girls and two boys and all of them showed love and had concern for one another. For her parents, the birth of young Anisia was a precious gift from God. Her brother before her died in his childhood and it caused much pain and sorrow to the couple. Her birth brought joy to the family.
The exact dates of her baptism and confirmation could not be traced because all records of their parish contained in the Canonical books were burned during the Japanese invasion. She just knew that she was baptized shortly after her birth, because she was sick. Her mother recalled that she pleaded to the Lord for young Anisia’s healing and offered her to Him.
Her father gave her the name Raymunda after St. Raymund and he loved to call her “Ari-Munding-Munding”. Her mother on the other hand wanted her name to be after St. Anne, the Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Taking both names, she was baptized as Raymunda Anisia. She just used the shorter one, Anisia.
S. Anisia grew up praying as a family at dawn the “Trisagio”. They were also faithful in joining Aguinaldo Masses and the celebration of the feast of St. Joseph which was the big feast in the family. Every feast of St. Joseph, the Husband of Mary, they would invite beggars which would compose the Holy Family and these beggars would eat with them. When not in her family, she had also her duties as an active member of the Junior Praesidium of the Legion of Mary.
She finished her primary years at Panay Elementary School and her intermediate education at Tangue Elementary School, Roxas City. She took her secondary education at Capiz High School where she met Felisa Declaro, now S. Maria Felisa Declaro, RVM. They were also together in second and third year high school at Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion, a parochial school. It was in their last year in high school that they transferred to St. Mary’s of Capiz, Roxas City, which had a newly opened high school education. S. Maria Anisia was already a perpetually professed Sister when she finished Bachelor of Science in Commerce at the Immaculate Conception College, Davao City in March 1975. Bishop Joseph Regan pinned her cum laude medal.
She was drawn to religious life when she was in third year high school; she was fourteen years old, then. She was attracted to the Sisters and she would lovingly touch their habit whenever she could. She decided to enter the Religious of the Virgin Mary in 1951 at the age of eighteen. When she left, her mother who was against her decision finally gave up because of her persistence by saying “Just the same, you will not be always with me and once you enter never, never turn your back , I give you back to God who gave you to me.”
She pronounced her temporary profession on February 02, 1954 and her perpetual profession on February 02, 1960. She had her silver jubilee on February 02, 1979 and golden jubilee on February 02, 2004. She recounted that since she professed her first vows, she would always look forward to her final vows.
In one of her letters to M. Maria Clarita Balleque, the Superior General then, she expressed that she wanted to be assigned in Southern Mindanao particularly Tagum because she considered it as her second home. She spent the whole of her Juniorate years and another seven years after her perpetual profession in Holy Cross College, Tagum, presently St. Mary’s College. She claimed that it was there that she grew up maturely and learned many things from her first superior.
Her experience in Our Lady’s Academy, Baganga, Davao Oriental was also worth remembering. She noted that the community was materially poor but rich in love. Misunderstanding was inevitable in community life but dialogue, forgiveness and reconciliation were valued and as one community they brought their joyful and painful experiences of the day in prayer. The community enjoyed living simply and contented with what they had amidst poverty. She recognized with deep gratitude Reverend Fr. James Ferry and other Maryknoll fathers who journeyed with them and took care of their spiritual well-being. She also acknowledged with joy the material and spiritual assistance of His Excellency, Most Reverend Joseph Regan.
Those who had close encounter with S. Maria Anisia, described her as obedient, prayerful, friendly, amiable, gracious, caring and thoughtful. She was diligent, responsible and resourceful in any work assigned to her. She had been a faithful steward in handling the material resources of the communities where she served as regional econome for the Regions of Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon, local econome, assistant econome, finance revisor, bookkeeper and canteen in-charge. To some, she was known to have a pair of “happy feet” for she loved to go out for marketing, grocery and other errands. She enjoyed discovering the outdoors with members of the community and would not hesitate to lend a hand. For few years she was also a local superior, classroom teacher and prefect of boarders, and part of her apostolate which she also found fulfilling, was to take care of the working boys and girls as she was observed as kind and unselfish in such responsibility. In all her assignments, she would think of the welfare of the community.
In her personal prayers, her heart was always filled with gratitude: gratitude for the gift of her vocation, in spite of her unworthiness; gratitude for God’s mercy, compassion and forgiving heart, despite her limitations and shortcomings as a good religious. She asked God to make her always humble and obedient, and make her heart be that of Christ’s heart.
On November 02, 2017, while she was being prepared by the caregiver for the six o’clock morning Mass, she lost her strength because of congestive heart failure. At 5:58 in the morning of that same day, she breathed her last due to Cardiac Arrhythmia. She was eighty four (84) years old.
Thank you, our dear S. Annie, for the sixty three years (63) of loving service as Religious of the Virgin Mary. Thank you for your lovely smile that radiates concern, care, gentle presence and Marian hospitality. You bade goodbye to your earthly life on the feast of all the souls. Certainly, on your deathbed, all souls in heaven rejoiced as they welcomed your birth in Eternity and be with your “TATAY”, the name you fondly used to call God, the Father. May you now experience His compassionate and merciful embrace. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and Mother Ignacia accompany you to God’s heavenly abode. Farewell to you, our dear S. Annie.
Eternal rest grant unto S. Maria Anisia, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace.
Amen.
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