Good Shepherd’s famous ube jam creator, Sr. Fidelis Atienza, dies at 102

Good Shepherd Sr. Fidelis Atienza, the creator of the famous ube jam that has been a staple pasalubong for tourists going to Baguio City, passed away on Saturday. She was 102.

According to a CBCP report, St. Atienza passed away at the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS) Community in Quezon City.

Sr. Atienza entered the Noviciate of the Good Shepherd in Los Angeles, California in 1951. She made her first profession in 1954, and her final profession in 1957.

The nun spent most of her life counseling thousands of people at the Maryridge Retreat and Renewal Center at Tagaytay before she was transferred to the Good Shepherd Community in Quezon City last year.

Good Shepherd Ube Jam

Sr. Atienza introduced the ube (purple yam)  jam in 1976 as part of the Good Shepherd Mountain Maid products a decade after starting the Marian Bakery. Up to this day, the famous ube jam has become Mountain Maid’s bestseller.

The roster of Baguio tourists’ favorite pasalubong center- Sr. Atienza’s famous ube jam along with Mountain Maid’s other bestsellers, the Strawberry Jam, 1953 (Sr. Carmel Medalla RGS) and Peanut Brittle, 1970 (Sr. Consuelo Ferrer RGS), and skinless peanut adobo, 1970 (Sr. Jeanette Rimando)- was able to build the Mountain Maid Training Center (MMTC). The training center provides education and employment to the Cordillera youth through its student worker program.

SOURCE: CBCP News, MMTC, Maryridge Retreat and Renewal Center