Mary de Cervellione ( ca, Maria de Cervelló; Mary of Cervellon) (1230 at
Barcelona – 19 September 1290) was a Catalan superior of a
Third Order of
Mercedarians
The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...
. She is a Catholic saint; her following, which began immediately after her death, was approved by
Pope Innocent XII in 1692.
She is invoked especially against
shipwreck
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
and is generally represented with a ship in her hand. Her feast is celebrated on 19 September. On account of her charity towards the needy she began to be called Maria de Socos (Mary of Help).
Life
Born at Barcelona, she was the daughter of a Spanish nobleman named William de Cervellon. She was baptized on December 8 in
Santa Maria del Mar. Mary de Cervellione assisted at the Hospital of Saint Eulalia, which had been built largely through the generosity of Raimundo de Plagamans, a wealthy businessman in the royal service; and was located at Villanova by the sea.
[
The Mercedarians had for time been involved in redeeming Christian slaves and captives held by the Saracens of Spain and North Africa. Through her work at the hospital, Mary came into contact with ]Peter Nolasco
Peter Nolasco (1189 – 6 May 1256), ''Pere Nolasc'' in Catalan, ''Pierre Nolasque'' in French and ''Pedro Nolasco'' in Spanish, is a Catholic saint, born at Mas-des-Saintes-Puelles, Languedoc, today's France, although some historians claim he ...
, founder of the Merdearians. One day she heard a sermon preached by Bernardo de Corbera, the superior of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Ransom at Barcelona, and was so deeply affected that she resolved to do all in her power for those held captive. Despite her families repeated attempts to arrange a socially advantageous marriage, with the assistance of Bernabo, in 1265 she joined a little community of pious women who lived near the monastery of the Mercedarians and spent their lives in prayer and good works.["St. Maria de Cervellon", Mercedarian Friars]
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They obtained permission to constitute a Third Order of Our Lady of Ransom (de Mercede) and to wear the habit of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Ransom. In addition to the usual vows of tertiaries, they promised to pray for the Christian slaves. Mary was elected the first superior.
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 8 April 2019
/ref>
She died on September 19, 1290.
Veneration
Her cult was approved by Pope Innocent XII in 1692. Her remains lie in the Basilica of La Merced in Barcelona.[ She is depicted as holding a ship.
]
References
;Attribution
* The entry cites:
**'' Acta Sanctorum'', September, VII, 152–171;
**DUNBAR, Dictionary of Saintly Women II (London, 1905), 56–7;
**CORBERA, Vida y hechos maravillo sas de d. Maria de Cerveilon, clamado Maria Socos (Barcelona, 1639): a Life written by her contemporary John de Laes
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
is printed in ''Acta Sanctorum''. According to Sarah Fawcett Thomas, Paul Burns, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints, September'' (2000), p. 186, these accounts are marred by many forgeries.
{{Authority control
1290 deaths
Mercedarian saints
13th-century Christian saints
Year of birth uncertain
Spanish Roman Catholic saints
Female saints of medieval Spain
Medieval Spanish saints
People from Barcelona
13th-century Spanish women
13th-century Catalan people
1230 births
Canonizations by Pope Innocent XII