Judy Ann: An Infant Jesus of Prague Devotee
Yes! Magazine, December 2000 by Ana Pingol


Judy Ann Santos thinks of the Divine Infant Jesus of Prague as her “best friend.”

In her words: “Alam ko kasing nakikinig Siya, at kahit di Niya sagutin lahat ng dasal ko, alam kong may dahilan.”

She became a devotee in 1998, she says, and it all started when she did the movie I’m Sorry, My Love. “First team up kasi namin ‘yon ni Onemig (Bondoc). Tapos, directorial debut pa ni Joyce Bernal,” she recalls. “Medyo kinabahan ako kung ano ang kalalabasan. E hindi ko na kayang pumunta ng Manaoag. Sabi ni Tito Alfie, i-try ko daw mag-petition kay Sto. Niño. Ginawa ko, tapos okay nga ‘yung kinalabasan rin ng movie. Sabi pa nga nila, p ‘wede naman daw palang wala akong ka-love team.”

But it’s not, she adds, just the answered prayers that keep her coming back. She says she also fell in love with the serenity of the Carmelite church. “Napaka-solemn ng place,” she says with awe. “Maliit lang pero tahimik. Makapagdarasal ka talaga ng taimtim at walang umuusyoso sa ‘yo. Kung meron mang nakakakilala, hindi sila ‘yung tipo na nanggugulo.”

It turns out that Judy Ann is very much like the characters she’s been playing. Five years as “Mara,” three years as “Esperanza,” and two years as “Ula” all of them prayerful souls—were after all not too strange for her to play. The actress, star of Kahit Isang Saglit, truly believes in prayer.

“May times na talagang nagno-novena ako, ‘yung nine consecutive Sundays,” says Juday, the name by which everyone in showbiz calls her. “‘Yun talaga, ‘pag inumpisahan ko pinanangangatawanan ko. Kahit may shooting ako nag papaalam ako na male-late. At kung hindi man novena, basta as much as possible pumupunta ako dito ‘pag Sunday, sabay dalaw na rin kay Tito Alfie (Lorenzo).”

For someone who seems to have everything—she’s still considered the most popular young star on film and television today—what could be her most fervent prayer?

“S ‘yempre lagi kong pinagdarasal ang pamilya ko, mga taong malalapit sa akin, saka ang career ko, “ Juday says. “But right now ang hinihiling ko talaga sa Kanya is for Him to show me a sign.. .tungkol sa isang matinong taong makakasama ko sa buhay."

The star admits she is mending a broken heart from a recent breakup with Wowie de Guzman. But she adds, “Pero hindi naman ako nag fll(iflhidali, kahit hindi pa Niya
muna ibigay ‘yung tao. Sign lang para malaman ko kung itutuloy ko o hindi.”

Despite the heartache, Judy Ann knows that life has been good to her. That is why, she says, she always tries to give something back. This season as in the past, she will visit an orphanage of her choice for her annual gift-giving. “Masarap sa feeling nu‘ng mga bata na me binubuksun sila,” she says. This is on top of her preparing gifts for her more than 50 godchildren.

It is moments like these anyway that make her feel complete even when her own immediate family will not be. “Sanay nu ‘ko sa Paskong hindi kami kumpleto,” she says in a low tone. “Lalo na ngayon, may pamilya na 'yung ate ko. Si Daddy nasa States, si Mommy nasa Canada pero babalik daw for Christmas. Minsan, medyo mas nakukumpleto pa kaming mag-kakapatid
‘pag ordinary days.”

Her wish remains the same through many Christmases. “Alam kong imposible pero, sige, wini- wish ko pa rin. Dati, sabi ko sana magkabalikan ang Mommy at Daddy ko. Ngayon nga sinimplehan ko na lang e. Yung sana man lang maging magkaibigan sila. Kung pwede pa rin sana kaming lumabas- labas as a family, nag-uusap-usap nang walang tens’yon.

No other wish, she sighs, is even more impossible. “Na sana magkabati na ang Mommy ko saka si Tito Alfie.

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