Blessed Maria Rafols
Blessed Maria Rafols (born November 5, 1781 AD in Villafranca del Penedès, Catalonia, Spain; died August 30, 1853 AD in Zaragoza, Spain) was a Spanish religious and co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne (Hermanas de la Caridad de Santa Ana). She is best remembered for her heroic care of the sick and wounded at the Hospital of Our Lady of Grace in Zaragoza, especially during the sieges of the city in the Napoleonic wars. She is venerated as a Blessed of the Church. Her feast day is August 30.
Maria Rafols dedicated her life to the poor, the sick, orphans, and the abandoned, serving with courage amid war, epidemic, and imprisonment. She was beatified in 1994.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Maria Rafols
| Blessed Maria Rafols | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | August 30 |
| Profession | Religious sister; co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne; nurse |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne |
| Patronage | Nurses; the sick; the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne |
| Attributes | Religious habit; caring for the sick and wounded |
| Birthplace | Villafranca del Penedès, Catalonia, Spain |
| Death Place | Zaragoza, Spain |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne; died at Zaragoza |
| Primary Shrine | Zaragoza, Spain |
Biography
Maria Rafols was born on November 5, 1781, at Villafranca del Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. Drawn from her youth to a life of charity, she joined a small group who, under the guidance of the priest Juan Bonal, undertook to serve the sick poor at the Hospital of Our Lady of Grace (Nuestra Señora de Gracia) in Zaragoza. From this beginning grew the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Anne, of which she is honored as co-founder.
At the hospital she cared for the sick, the mentally ill, foundlings, and the destitute with tireless devotion. Her charity was tested to the extreme during the sieges of Zaragoza (1808–1809) in the Peninsular War, when she nursed the wounded of both sides amid bombardment, famine, and pestilence, at one point crossing enemy lines to beg provisions for her patients.
Her later years were marked by suffering and misunderstanding, including a period of unjust removal and hardship, all of which she bore with humility and patience. She died at Zaragoza on August 30, 1853. She was beatified on June 16, 1994, by Pope John Paul II. Her feast is kept on August 30.
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Feast day
August 30
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