IPPOLITA di Gesù. - Dominican writer, in the world Isabella de' Rocaberti, Spanish, born at Barcelona on 22 Jan. 1551, died there on 6 Aug. 1624.
She entered at a very young age (30 Sept. 1562) the monastery of Our Lady of the Angels in her native city; but only after her religious profession (26 June 1567) did she begin to live her vocation seriously. From then on she received great heavenly favours, while fruitfully attending to the formation of novices, including Benedictine ones.
She composed many ascetical works: Libro primero de su admirable vida y doctrina, que escribió de su mano... (Obras, I, Valencia 1679); De la penitencia, temor de Dios y meditaciones celestiales (ibid., III, ibid. 1679); Del templo del Espíritu santo (ibid., IV, ibid. 1679); De los estados (ibid., VI, ibid. 1679); La celestial Jerusalén (ibid., X, ibid. 1679), etc. (Valencia 1679, edited by her nephew, Archbishop G. T. de Rocaberti).
The cause of beatification was begun in 1676.