A doctor and a biologist in Spain embrace life as consecrated virgins
Bishop Ginés García Beltrán of Getafe consecrated two women, Ana Isabel García and Estefanía Ibáñez, to a life of consecrated virginity on September 6, 2026, at the Nativity of Our Lady Church in San Martín de la Vega, Spain. The rite emphasized the marriage-like nature of the consecration, describing it as a betrothal to Christ and a commitment to serve the Church in mission. Both women, a biologist and a physician, had long spiritual journeys of discernment spanning several years, guided by priests and the 2022 Ordo Virginum instruction from the Vatican. The bishop urged the newly consecrated virgins to view their vocation as missionary work in all aspects of life, encouraging them to embody love, service, and fidelity to Christ.
13 days ago
Two women in Spain—a biologist and a physician—were consecrated to a life of virginity for Christ during a Sept. 6 ceremony led by the bishop of Getafe. The rite emphasized their spiritual union with Christ and their continuing missionary service to the Church. 1 2
Bishop Ginés García Beltrán presided over the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity for Ana Isabel García, a biologist, and Estefanía Ibáñez, a physician. The ceremony took place at the Nativity of Our Lady Church in San Martín de la Vega, in the Diocese of Getafe. 1 2
In his homily, García Beltrán described the rite as a permanent spiritual marriage to Christ, saying it was “a betrothal to Christ” in which the women give themselves to him in faithfulness. He also presented the bishop as the spiritual father of consecrated virgins within the diocese. 1 2
The bishop said consecrated virginity is not a withdrawal from Christian communities. Instead, the women are to remain available for service wherever the Church and the Lord call them, whether in a parish, the diocese, or elsewhere. 1 2
He linked the vocation’s fruitfulness to self-giving love, telling the women that love is directed toward others rather than toward oneself. He further said that their words, actions, and presence should embody a missionary purpose because “for a Christian, everything is mission.” 1 2
Because the ceremony occurred near the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, García Beltrán presented Mary as a model of virginity expressed through faith, hope, and love. 1 2
García said she once expected marriage to be her vocation and recalled feeling distressed because her friends had boyfriends while she did not. A personal encounter with Christ changed her perspective and led to an especially intensive period of discernment and formation lasting about five years, during which several priests accompanied her. 1 2
Ibáñez said she experienced a strong attraction to Christ during adolescence. Raised in a Catholic family, she described developing a desire for him at age 13, and later rediscovered the call to total self-giving while studying at university. 1 2
In 2022, Ibáñez encountered Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago, the Vatican instruction on the Ordo Virginum, or order of virgins. After exploring other forms of consecrated life, she recognized in the document the vocation to which she felt called. 1 2
Before the ceremony, García said she hoped it would help make the vocation of consecrated virginity better known. Ibáñez expressed the hope that the celebration would help those present experience God’s presence and companionship in their lives. 1 2
Investigate Catholic doctrine on consecrated virginity as missionary vocation
Catholic doctrine understands consecrated virginity not primarily as a profession chosen for missionary activity, but as a spousal consecration to Christ that necessarily becomes missionary. The consecrated virgin witnesses to the Kingdom, serves the Church, and makes Christ’s love visible—sometimes through explicit evangelization, but also through prayer, charity, professional work, and the witness of her life.
Consecrated virginity is a public, lifelong vocation. In the Ordo virginum, a woman makes a definitive resolution to persevere in perfect chastity and the service of God and the Church. The diocesan bishop accepts this commitment through the liturgical consecration, establishing her in a spousal relationship with Christ.
The “spousal” language does not mean marriage to a deity. It refers to a baptismal and ecclesial reality: Christ’s covenantal love for the Church. Consecrated virginity therefore signifies the Church’s exclusive devotion to Christ and anticipates the definitive communion of the Kingdom.
This vocation is not a rejection of marriage as something evil. The Church’s tradition rejects both contempt for marriage and sexuality and the idea that virginity is merely self-denial. Its meaning is theological: total availability for God and a sign of the world to come.
The missionary character follows from three dimensions of the vocation:
The consecrated virgin publicly witnesses that Christ is the definitive Bridegroom and that earthly goods and relationships, though good, are not ultimate. Her life proclaims the future Kingdom already beginning in the Church.
This is evangelization by existence. Benedict XVI emphasizes that consecrated persons contribute principally through “being” rather than merely through activities. Their prayer and union with God give apostolic fruitfulness to their service.
The consecration dedicates the woman to “the service of God and the Church” and to the Church’s mission in the world. Her motherhood is spiritual: like the Church, she is called to foster new life in grace, through prayer, charity, instruction, works of mercy, and Christian witness.
This does not impose one apostolate on every consecrated virgin. Her concrete mission is discerned within her circumstances, gifts, profession, diocese, and relationship with the bishop.
The Church explicitly recognizes that virginity for the Kingdom can become a powerful missionary witness, especially among peoples who do not yet know Christ. John Paul II describes women consecrated to God and neighbor—particularly the poor—as an “indispensable evangelical sign” and encourages them to bear witness among peoples who have not encountered the Gospel.
Thus a consecrated virgin may certainly receive a missionary vocation involving work outside her own country or culture. However, the available teaching does not make foreign missionary work an essential element of the Ordo virginum. The essential elements are consecration, spousal belonging to Christ, lifelong chastity, service of God and the Church, prayer, and ecclesial witness.
The Ordo virginum is ordinarily characterized by a close relationship with the particular Church and its diocesan bishop. Its identity is not principally communal life in a religious institute, but consecration lived within the local Church.
This creates a distinctive missionary pattern:
Consequently, her mission may be parish evangelization, catechesis, education, healthcare, assistance to the poor, professional service, interreligious encounter, contemplative prayer, or direct missionary work. The external activity is important, but it does not define the vocation as much as her consecrated identity does.
Mission cannot be reduced to activism. The Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration nourish the consecrated virgin’s complete dedication to Christ and strengthen her to become a sign of God’s fruitful love.
This means that prayer is not an alternative to mission. It is one of its foundations. The virgin’s union with Christ makes her apostolic service an extension of the Church’s own life rather than merely humanitarian work.
Catholic doctrine therefore supports the following conclusions:
In short, consecrated virginity is missionary because it makes the Church’s total love for Christ visible. Its deepest mission is to belong wholly to Christ so that, through prayer, charity, and witness, Christ may become more present to the world.