ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 28th of August
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
ST JOAQUIMA VEDRUNA VIDAL DE MAS, FOUNDRESS
Saint Joaquima Vedruna Vidal de Mas was born on April 16, 1783 in Barcelona to the nobles Lorenzo de Vedruna and his wife Teresa Vidal. A pious girl, she expressed a desire to become a Carmelite nun, but her parents believed she was not mature enough to make such a decision.
SHE EXPRESSED THE DESIRE TO BECOME A NUN
On March 24, 1799 she married the barrister and landowner Teodoro de Mas (the firstborn of his own household) with whom she had nine children; both husband and wife later became members of the Third Order of Saint Francis and she became known as "Joaquina of Saint Francis of Assisi".
But Napoleon's invasion saw her flee with her children but her husband insisted that he remain to fight as a volunteer and he died on March 6, 1816; she moved with her children after a few months from Barcelona to their estate of "Manso Escorial" in Vic and she began to wear the habit of the third order on a frequent basis.
HER CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Here she began her charitable activities with the sick and with women. Her spiritual director - the Capuchin Esteban de Olot - suggested she establish an apostolic congregation devoted to education and to charitable works. Four daughters entered convents and two sons married while three others died as children.
The Bishop of Vic Pablo Jesus Corcuera told her the institute should be of a Carmelite inspiration; she made her vows to the bishop on January 6, 1826. The same bishop wrote the rule for the order in February 1826 and on the morning of February 26 she and another eight women professed their vows while she founded the order at that moment.
THEY MADE THEIR VOWS
That morning the group attended Mass at a Capuchin church and then went to her estate to begin their new order. But she also collaborated with Anthony Mary Claret for the writing up of the rule. During the First Carlist War she had to flee from Spain because she had founded a hospital in the Carlist town of Berga that was threatened due to all of the fighting and so she went to Roussillon in France and was there from 1836 until 1842.
SERIOUS CHALLENGES
Her congregation received the papal decree of praise from Pope Pius IX on August 5, 1857 while the order was aggregated to the mainstream Carmelites on September 14, 1860; official papal approval came on July 20, 1880 from Pope Leo XIII. In spite of serious challenges that the civil war and secular opposition posed the institute she founded soon spread into Catalonia. Thereafter communities were established throughout Spain and Hispanic America.
SHE DIED DURING A CHOLERA EPIDEMIC
In due course she was forced to resign as the Superior of her order due to sickness; she died during a cholera epidemic in Barcelona on August 28, 1854 but she fell victim to paralysis since 1850. Her first attack of apoplexy came in September 1849 with more following. Her remains are in the order's motherhouse in Vic. Her order now operates in nations such as Japan and Eritrea while in 2008 there were 2012 religious in 280 houses.
PATRON OF EXILES
St Joaquima was beatified in 1940 and canonised on April 12, 1959 by Pope John XXIII. She is patron saint of those abused, against the death of children, and of exiles.
(Information from Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquina_Vedruna_de_Mas - 📷 1. St Joaquima and fellow sisters, 2. Joaquima's remains were found to be incorrupt)
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