24th Jul - BLESSED MARIA MERCEDES PRAT (1880-1936)

 Maria was baptized on 7 March 1880 and made her First Holy Communion on 30 June 1890. She was a pious child who attended Mass nearly every day. As a devoted student, a painter, 

    and excelled in needlework, joined the Society of Saint Teresa of Jesus in 1904 in Tortosa. She was assigned

    to the motherhouse in Barcelona in 1920. On 19 July 1936, her community was forced by anti-Catholic government authorities to abandon their house and school. Mercedes was arrested

    and shot on 23 July 1936 for the crime of being a nun. Finally, at dawn on July 24th, on the road to Rabasada, the firing squad found her with a prayer on her lips. 

    A few shots rang out. Mortally wounded, she repeated between cries of pain, "Jesus, Joseph, Mary." Her last words were those of the Our Father. To the Sister who closed her eyes, 

    she seemed "An Angel of Sorrow”. She was Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990.




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