Ignacia Eulalia Fernández Valle, known as Sr. Begoña in religious life, was born on 12 February 1936 in La Velilla, León. She was the daughter of Cipriano and Felisa and the younger of two sisters. She entered the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Mediatrix in Colloto, Asturias, on 12 September 1956; she made her First Profession on 19 October 1958 and her Perpetual Profession on 9 October 1963.
There are many communities and places where she lived her vocation; we mentioned Spain, Italy, Brazil and Venezuela, she spent the past years in Piedralaves community, Ávila. She was General Councillor and Secretary for two six-year terms: 1982–1988 and 1988–1994.
Sr. Begoña was a simple, frank, cheerful and helpful woman. Her smile, her contagious joy, her way of welcoming others. She was always ready to take any mission asked of her, however difficult it might be. She was deeply in love with the Lord to whom she dedicated her life. She was happy to give her all for Him because she understood that only in Him did she find fulfillment.
Little by little, she became weaker. In recent years she had been admitted to hospital on several occasions. Just over a month ago she suffered a fractured vertebra, which marked the beginning of a decline that came to an end, after a week’s stay at the Provincial Hospital Ávila at dawn on 5 June.
She expressed her wish to be cremated and her ashes rest in the crypt of the convent in Piedralaves, Ávila.
