BL. JUAN NEPOMUCENO ZEGRI Y MORENO, PRIEST AND FOUNDER - 17 MARCH

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH

Saints celebrated on the 17th of March

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.

BL. JUAN NEPOMUCENO ZEGRI Y MORENO, PRIEST AND FOUNDER

Juan Nepomuceno Zegri y Moreno was born on 11 October 11, 1831 in Granada, Spain. As a youth, Juan felt called to serve the Lord in society's poor, and wanted to become a priest. He entered St Dionysius Seminary of Granada, and on June 2, 1855 was ordained in the Cathedral of Granada. He served in the parishes of Huetor Santillan and of San Gabriel de Loja in Granada.

"HEALING SICK HEARTS"

His vocation, as he once proclaimed in a homily, was to be "like a good shepherd, going after the lost sheep; like a doctor, healing sick hearts wounded by faults and binding them with hope; like a father, who visibly provides for all of those who, suffering from abandonment, must drink from the bitter chalice and receive nourishment from the bread of tears".

A RELIGIOUS CONGREGATION SERVING THE MOST NEEDY

It was with a profound interest in resolving social problems and in meeting the needs of the poor and neglected that Fr Zegrí felt called to found a religious congregation that would serve the most needy. On March 16, 1878 in Malaga, under the protection and inspiration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, he began the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.

THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MERCY

The Congregation's main charism was to practice all of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy for the benefit of the poor. He asked the Religious to do all "for the good of humanity, in God, for God, towards God". In only a few years, the Congregation was established in many Dioceses throughout Spain.

He firmly believed that "charity is the only answer to all social problems". In this light the key points of the spirituality of the Founder were:  redemptive charity; love and configuration with Jesus the Redeemer; love for Mary, Our Lady of Mercy.

TESTING AND VINDICATION

God permitted Fr Zegrí to be severely tested and misunderstood after he founded the Congregation, and his own Religious "daughters" falsely accused him. With a Pontifical Decree dated July 7, 1888 he was sent away from the Order that he himself had founded.

After years of silent suffering, his innocence was recognised with another Decree dated July 15, 1894. Although he was permitted to re-enter the Congregation, he voluntarily kept himself at a distance in order to preserve communion with the Church and his "daughters", so that they would not openly disobey Church authority.

On March 17, 1905 in Malaga, Fr Zegrí died just as he had desired:  like Jesus, alone and abandoned. He offered himself for the good of humanity and forgave "his own" who had accused him.

(From a homily of John Paul II - the full homily can be found here:  https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031109_zegri_en.html)