Blessed Pere Tarrés i Claret
Blessed Pere Tarrés i Claret (Spanish: Pedro Tarrés y Claret; born May 30, 1905 AD at Manresa, Catalonia, Spain; died August 31, 1950 AD at Barcelona) was a Catalan physician who became a Catholic priest, remembered as a model of the lay apostolate turned pastor. A gifted doctor devoted to the poor and to tuberculosis patients, and a leading figure of Catholic Action in Catalonia, he lived through the persecutions of the Spanish Civil War before answering a call to the priesthood in mid-life. Ordained in 1942, he spent his few priestly years in an intense pastoral and spiritual ministry, cut short by cancer at the age of forty-five. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II at Loreto on September 5, 2004, and his feast is kept on August 31.[1][2]
Trained in medicine at Barcelona, Tarrés combined a busy medical practice — including a clinic he helped found for those who could not pay — with tireless leadership of the Federation of Young Christians of Catalonia (FJC), the Catholic youth movement of which he became president.[1][3] Through the anticlerical violence of the Civil War and his own service as a military doctor, his lay Christian witness matured into a priestly vocation; entering the seminary in 1939, he was ordained in 1942 and became a much-loved confessor and preacher until his early death. His memory is preserved today in the Catalan social and educational foundation that bears his name.[1][3]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Pere Tarrés i Claret
| Blessed Pere Tarrés i Claret | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | August 31 |
| Profession | Physician; priest; Catholic Action leader |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Archdiocese of Barcelona |
| Patronage | Physicians; Catholic Action; Catholic youth |
| Attributes | Cassock; physician's attributes |
| Birthplace | Manresa, Catalonia, Spain |
| Death Place | Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes; died August 31, 1950, of lymphatic cancer at Barcelona |
| Primary Shrine | Barcelona, Spain |
| Liturgical Class | Not included in the General Roman Calendar; observed in the Archdiocese of Barcelona |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth and early life
Pere Tarrés i Claret was born on May 30, 1905, at Manresa in Catalonia, Spain.[1][2] Raised in a devout Catalan family, he showed from his youth both a keen intelligence and a deep piety, and he resolved to serve God and neighbour through the practice of medicine.[2][3]
Physician and Catholic Action leader
Tarrés studied medicine at Barcelona, graduating in 1936, and established himself as a physician devoted especially to the poor and to sufferers from tuberculosis, helping to found a clinic where those who could not afford treatment might be cared for.[1][2] Alongside his profession he threw himself into the lay apostolate, becoming a leading figure — and eventually president — of the Federació de Joves Cristians de Catalunya (Federation of Young Christians of Catalonia), the vigorous Catholic youth movement of the 1930s, with the encouragement of Cardinal Francesc Vidal i Barraquer.[1][3]
The Spanish Civil War
The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 unleashed a fierce persecution of the Church in Catalonia, and Tarrés lived through those years in danger for his faith.[1][2] From May 1938 to January 1939 he served as a medical officer in the Republican army, attaining the rank of captain and tending the wounded, an experience he recorded in a wartime diary.[1] Throughout he preserved his Christian conviction and his interior life amid the horrors of war.[2]
Vocation and priesthood
His long lay apostolate ripened into a call to the priesthood. On September 29, 1939, Tarrés entered the seminary, setting aside his medical career to prepare for holy orders.[1][2] He was ordained deacon on March 22, 1942, and priest on May 30, 1942 — his thirty-seventh birthday.[1] He served as parochial vicar at Sant Esteve Sesrovires and completed a degree in theology in 1944, becoming known as a devoted confessor, spiritual director, and preacher, and as a promoter of the spiritual life among the laity.[1][3]
Illness and death
In May 1950 Tarrés was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer.[1] He bore his final illness with patience and faith, and died at Barcelona on August 31, 1950, at the age of forty-five.[1][2]
Significant events
- Born at Manresa on May 30, 1905.
- Trained as a physician at Barcelona, graduating in 1936, and served the poor and the sick.
- Led the Federation of Young Christians of Catalonia, becoming its president.
- Served as a military doctor during the Spanish Civil War (1938–1939).
- Entered the seminary on September 29, 1939.
- Ordained priest on May 30, 1942.
- Ministered as parochial vicar and spiritual guide.
- Died of cancer at Barcelona on August 31, 1950.
- Beatified by Pope John Paul II at Loreto on September 5, 2004.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Manresa, Catalonia, Spain
Death location: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Notable location: Birthplace (Manresa, Catalonia, Spain)
Notable location: Where he trained and practised as a physician and later died (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)
Notable location: Where he served as parochial vicar after his ordination (Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Catalonia, Spain)
Notable location: Where he was beatified, September 5, 2004 (Loreto, Marche, Italy)
Notable location:
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Canonization
Beatification
Following the recognition of his heroic virtues and the approval of a miracle attributed to his intercession, Pere Tarrés i Claret was beatified by Pope John Paul II at the Marian shrine of Loreto in Italy on September 5, 2004.[1][2] He has not been canonized.
Feast day
August 31
Veneration
Blessed Pere Tarrés i Claret is venerated especially in the Archdiocese of Barcelona and throughout Catalonia, where he is honoured as a model of the lay apostolate and of the physician-priest who served God in the sick and the poor. His name is carried on by the Fundació Pere Tarrés, a Catalan social and educational foundation inspired by his witness, and he is held up as a patron of physicians and of Catholic youth.[3][2]
Prayers
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Intercessory
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External links
- Wikipedia – Pere Tarrés i Claret
- Fundació Pere Tarrés – Blessed Pere Tarrés
- CatholicSaints.Info – Blessed Pere Tarrés i Claret