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Born in Quezon City, Niña Ruiz-Abad was attracted to the Catholic faith at a young age, which was fostered by her mother's devotion to Divine Mercy.
Niña eventually attended Holy Angels Montessori School in Quezon City, before moving with her mother to Sarrat.
According to Agenzia Fides, "She was described as having a strong devotion to the Eucharist and devoted her life to distributing rosaries, Bibles, prayer books, holy images and other religious items. An unwavering faith encouraged her, even though she was beginning to feel the effects of heart disease."
She was "diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the age of 10 and she lived three years of illness, always with joy and deep faith."
Niña died on August 16, 1993, after suffering from cardiac arrest while attending school.
Cause for canonization
The local bishops approved a cause for canonization to be initiated in 2023 and submitted their proposal to the Vatican.
On March 16 the Vatican granted the “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”) for the local bishops to continue their investigation into her life.
The local bishops will now look more intensely into her life to determine if she lived with "heroic virtue."
If the Vatican similarly finds that she lived heroically, she will be granted the title of "venerable."
Until that time, she will be known as "Servant of God."
