Mercedarian

Mercedarian, member of a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St. Peter Nolasco in Spain in 1218 for the purpose of ransoming Christians who had been taken captive by the Moors during the Crusades. Founded as the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Ransom of Captives, it was originally a military order (i.e., a brotherhood of knights). It was also called the Knights of Saint Eulalia because the order’s first headquarters was a hospital in Barcelona dedicated to St. Eulalia, the city’s patron saint. In the 21st century the Mercedarians are officially known as the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.

St. Raymond of Peñafort, Nolasco’s confessor and the author of the order’s rule, based the rule on that of St. Augustine. In addition to the usual three religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Mercedarians take a fourth vow, sometimes known as a “blood vow”: to offer themselves as hostages for Christian prisoners in danger of losing their faith or for the liberation of people who are held captive or oppressed. This vow includes giving up one’s life if necessary.

The habit of a Mercedarian is white, originally to facilitate entrance into Muslim territory. Mercedarians also wear a wide leather belt with a chain, suggesting the sword that all members once customarily carried.

Pope Gregory IX approved the order in 1235, and it spread rapidly throughout Europe. During the founder’s lifetime, the order freed 2,700 prisoners and, overall, claimed to have freed about 70,000 prisoners. In 1265 an order of Mercedarians for women was founded in Spain by St. Mary de Cervello.

In 1318 Pope John XXII decreed that the leader of the order should be a priest, an action that caused lay knights to leave the Mercedarians and join a military order of Our Lady of Montesa. The Mercedarians subsequently became a mendicant order (i.e., an order of friars). In the late 15th century Mercedarians accompanied Christopher Columbus to America and founded monasteries in Latin America. In time they also established themselves in Africa, Italy, France, Ireland, and the United States.

In 1602 a reform movement led by Juan Bautista Gonzalez resulted in the Discalced Mercedarians, whose rule was approved in 1606 by Pope Paul V. Peter Nolasco was canonized as a saint by Pope Urban VIII in 1628.

By 1770 there were nearly 5,000 Mercedarians living in about 230 convents located in southern Europe and in North and South America. The anticlerical mood of the 19th century came close to extinguishing them. In 1880, however, Pedro Armengol Valenzuela became master general, revised their constitution, and guided the order to educational, charitable, and social work, which the Mercedarians continued to pursue in the 20th century. In addition, the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, founded in Mexico in 1910 by María del Refugio Aguilar, was aggregated to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy in 1925 upon approval from Pope Pius XI.

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In the early 21st century there were about 800 Mercedarian friars in more than 150 communities throughout the world. Their primary ministries in the United States are in parishes, schools, hospitals, and prisons. The Mercedarian Sisters comprise nearly 450 women religious who serve in schools, parishes, diocesan missions, and prayer centers throughout Italy, Spain, and North and South America. In 2015 María del Refugio Aguilar was declared “Venerable” (the first step in canonization) by Pope Francis.