When Ingrid Orozco-Almazan, 68, lost her husband after 47 years of marriage, her world fell silent.
“For a year, I lived like a zombie,” she said. “I let the gloomy tide of life take me wherever it led. I was angry, helpless, and questioned God.”
In her loneliness, Ingrid found unexpected solace at the Our Lady Mother of Divine Providence (OLMDP) Abbey in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, home to the Benedictine Nuns of the Eucharistic King (BNEK).
A Gentle Invitation to Begin Again
“The Mother Abbess, Mother Mary Nathanael Pesigan, OSB, was compassionate,” Ingrid recalled. “But I was overaged at 68 to join them.”
Sensing Ingrid’s sorrow, the Abbess gently encouraged her to help at the monastery’s Host Baking Department, “to distract me from my misery,” Ingrid said.
Not knowing what to do with her dismantled life, she agreed. In November 2024, she began volunteering, sorting and packing communion hosts in her spare time. That quiet rhythm of work slowly brought peace back into her days.
A Second Motherly Presence
Among the nuns, one became particularly close to her, Sister Humbeline Castillo, OSB. It was Sr. Humbeline who saw beyond Ingrid’s grief and encouraged her to join the Third Order of the Benedictines, known as the Oblates, lay people who live out Benedictine spirituality in the world.
“I was endorsed in February 2025 to a former Superior who now serves as the Spiritual Directress of the Oblates,” Ingrid said.
This new belonging gave her life renewed meaning, just as Sr. Humbeline began facing her own suffering.
A Jubilee That Became a Homecoming
Sr. Humbeline was preparing for her Golden Jubilee, her 50th year of monastic life, originally scheduled for July 2026. But after she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which had spread to her stomach, the community decided to advance the celebration to October 1, 2025.
“Because of the rapid and debilitating effect of her illness, she didn’t make it to the date we prepared,” Ingrid said quietly. “She passed away on September 22.”
Her funeral, delayed by a typhoon, was held on September 29, presided over by Bishop Moises Cuevas, Apostolic Vicar of Calapan. In his homily, he spoke of her life of “prayer, obedience, and humility.”
Friends said, “The celebration she longed for took place in heaven.”
A Legacy of Prayer and Presence
Founded in 1931 by Mother Edeltraud Danner, OSB, together with Bishop Santiago Sancho of Nueva Segovia, the Benedictine Nuns of the Eucharistic King have remained a quiet spiritual force in the Philippines, balancing prayer, work, and community life in the spirit of ora et labora.
Today, only about 20 nuns remain at the OLMDP Abbey, ranging in age from 35 to 95. “Two are already sick, one bedridden and another former superior hospitalized,” Ingrid said. “I pray that new women will come and continue their mission.”
The abbey, perched on St. Raphael Heights in Barangay Salong, Calapan City, offers hospitality through retreats, a small gift shop, and its ever-present ministry of prayer.
Finding God Again
Ingrid admits her journey through grief continues. “In our 47 years, my husband taught me conformity, obedience, and humility,” she reflected. “Why did he have to die for me to relearn these?”
For months, she felt his presence everywhere, in their home, their car, their shared routines. “Now, I know he is really gone,” she said. “I saw him cremated. His ashes are in an urn. And yet, I still ask God why I am still alive.”
What has kept her steady, she says, is the prayer and presence of the nuns. “They were God’s instruments. Grief never truly leaves; you just learn to live with it.”
She now looks forward to the formation of the Claustral Oblates, laypeople who will live within the monastery grounds, balancing contemplation and work. “Freedom from worldly responsibilities is required,” she said, “but we will live by St. Benedict’s way, pray and work.”
Through the witness of these aging nuns, Ingrid found light again.
“I found the face of God,” she said. “And I found it through the nuns who pray for the world.”
