MOHAMMED ABDALLA, RELIGIOUS - 22 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

 Saints celebrated on the 22nd of February

MOHAMMED ABDALLA, RELIGIOUS 

Mohammed Abdalla was a holy Mercedarian friar in the convent of Saint Lazarus (San Lázaro) in Zaragoza, Spain. He lived in the 15th century. 

He distinguished himself in the Order for many virtues, giving a great example of a life entirely dedicated to heavenly things. Especially remembered for his charity and humility, and his particular devotion to the Passion of Our Lord, he died in the odour of sanctity on February 22. The Mercedarian records list him as "Blessed".

THE MERCEDARIAN FRIARS IN ZARAGOZA

The Mercedarian Convent of St Lazarus in Zaragoza was for centuries the main health centre in the region.

The Royal Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives - the Mercedarians - were established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelona, at that time in the Crown of Aragon, for the redemption of Christian captives.

Once the Aragonese reconquest was over, and converted into a regular mendicant order, it was dedicated to one of the main purposes for which it was created, the redemption of Christian captives in Muslim lands and care for the most destitute social sectors.

THE CONVENT OF ST LAZARUS, ZARAGOZA

Only eight years after its creation and by royal order, in 1224 the Royal Convent of St Lazarus was founded in Zaragoza, which had among its tasks, the day-to-day running of their hospital for lepers and other patients of the town.

In the convent there were two cloisters, one of them with a well whose water was famous throughout the city for its quality and purity, a large library, chapter house, garden, cells for the friars and hospital facilities in which they attended to the sick. In addition, in the part near the river, it had an imposing wall that protected the convent facilities from the intense floods of the Ebro.

In the sieges of Zaragoza, the convent was almost completely destroyed. 

(1. Bl. Mohammed, 2. View of Zaragoza with the St Lazarus Convent - 1563)