Our Lady of Mercy

On the first day of the month of August in the year 1218, under the pontificate of Honorius III, while the Church was celebrating the feast of Saint Peter in Chains, towards the middle of the night, the Queen of Angels descended from heaven, accompanied by heavenly spirits and a great number of Saints. She appeared first to Saint Peter Nolasco, who was then in prayer: "My son," said this glorious Queen to him, "I am the Mother of the Son of God, who, for the salvation and liberty of the human race, shed all His blood while suffering the cruel death of the Cross; I come here to seek men who wish, following the example of my Son, to give their lives for the salvation and liberty of their captive brothers. It is a sacrifice that will be very pleasing to Him. I desire, therefore, that an Order be founded in my honor, whose religious, with a lively faith and true charity, may redeem Christian slaves from the power and tyranny of the Turks, even giving themselves as a pledge, if necessary, for those whom they cannot otherwise redeem. Such is, my son, my will; for, when in prayer you asked me with tears to provide a remedy for their sufferings, I presented your vows to my Son, who, for your consolation and for the establishment of this Order under my name, has sent me from heaven to you."

Saint Peter Nolasco then humbly replied to the Queen of Angels: "I believe with a lively faith that you are the Mother of the living God, and that you have come into this world for the relief of the poor Christians who suffer in barbaric servitude. But who am I to accomplish such a difficult work, in the midst of the enemies of your divine Son, and to draw His children from their cruel hands?" — "Fear nothing, Peter," replied the Queen of Angels, "I will assist you in all this matter, and so that you may have faith in my word, you will soon see the execution of what I have announced to you, and my sons and daughters of this Order will glory in wearing white habits like those in which you see me clothed." Saying this, the most holy Virgin disappeared and returned to the throne of her glory.

Saint Peter Nolasco remained in prayer until the morning, meditating in his heart on what he had heard, and thanking God for such a great favor. As soon as the day appeared, he went to Saint Raymond of Pennafort, his confesso saint Raymond de Pennafort Master General of the Dominican Order. r, to give him an account of his admirable vision. But he had hardly begun to tell it to him, when, filled with astonishment, Saint Raymond interrupted him by saying: "I had the same vision as you this night: I was also favored with a visit from the Queen of Angels, and I heard from her mouth the order she gave me to work with all my strength for the establishment of this religion, and to encourage in my sermons the faithful Catholics to come to the aid of such a perfect work of charity. It is to thank God and the most holy Virgin that I came so early to the cathedral."

Who could express the joy of these two holy personages, seeing themselves the object of such a great favor from Our Lady? They immediately began to confer among themselves on the means to accomplish their mission. At that moment, they saw King James enter the church, who had also been visited by the Queen of Angels, and who was rushing to the cathedral to show his gratitude. Having perceived the two Saints, he called them, and having taken them aside, he told them of the vision he had had: "The glorious Queen of Angels," he said to them, "appeared to me this night, with incomparable beauty and majesty, ordering me to institute, for the redemption of captives, an Order that would bear the name of Saint Mary of Mercy; and, as I know in you, Peter Nolasco, a great desire to r edeem slaves, it is you Sainte-Marie de la Merci Religious and military order dedicated to the ransom of Christian captives. whom I charge with the execution of this work. As for you, Raymond, whose virtue and knowledge I know, you will be the support of the Order through your preaching."

The two Saints then reported to him the words that they too had heard from the mouth of the most holy Virgin, and having recognized, by the conformity of their respective visions, the will of God and of Our Lady, they resolved to work immediately on the foundation of the Order of Mercy.

August 10 of that same year was chosen to begin this great undertaking. The king went to the cathedral, where an immense crowd had gathered; for the news of the miracle had already spread throughout the kingdom. He was accompanied by Saint Peter Nolasco and Saint Raymond of Penyafort, the councilors of Barcelona, and all the nobility. In the church were a large number of prelates summoned by the king. The Bishop of Barcelona sang the Mass; after the Gospel, Saint Raymond of Penyafort mounted the pulpit: he recounted the vision he had had with admirable eloquence and fervor. The people, upon hearing the account of this miracle, of which they had the three faithful witnesses before their eyes, could not contain their joy, and thanked, amidst their cries and tears, the most holy Virgin for the pity she showed to the poor slaves.

The sermon being finished, the king descended from his throne, dressed in his royal mantle, and wearing a gold crown upon his head; he had at his sides Saint Raymond of Penyafort and Saint Peter Nolasco, and was followed by the councilors of Barcelona and the great men of the kingdom. He walked thus accompanied to the foot of the high altar, where the bishop was celebrating the holy Sacrifice; he stopped in his presence and said these words to him: "It is our will to fulfill the command of God, which the most holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Angels, has transmitted to us, and to found consequently a religious and military Order, whose members will devote themselves to the redemption of captives, even to giving their freedom and their lives for them. The first religious of this Order will be our companion and our friend Peter Nolasco, whom the Mother of God has chosen to be the foundation stone of this great work of charity. It is therefore to you now, Reverend Father, that it belongs to execute the designs of God and of the most holy Virgin."

The bishop, then, with the help of the king and of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, gave the habit to Saint Peter Nolasco, who was kneeling at his feet. All three shed tears of joy while clothing him in this white robe which had the form of that worn by the Queen of Angels. The king then placed with his own hands, upon the scapular, the shield of his royal arms, in the middle of which was a white cross, the insignia of the Cathedral of Barcelona. The king willed that Saint Peter and his successors should forever have the right to wear these armorial bearings on their chest. He also placed the Order under the protection of the councilors of Barcelona, recommending that they defend it with care in the centuries to come.

Saint Peter Nolasco then made the solemn vow to give himself as a hostage to the Turks, if necessary, for the redemption of Christian captives, which all the religious of his Order also promise. In a few years, the new Institute produced admirable fruits, so that, desiring to strengthen it with the approval of the Holy See, King James sent Saint Raymond of Penyafort to Perugia, where Pope Gregory IX was then residing. Th e Saint, prostra pape Grégoire IX Pope who attested to the miracles of Bruno. te at his feet, first recounted to him the apparition of the most holy Virgin and presented the petition by which the King requested the confirmation of this Order, founded twelve years prior. Gregory IX granted it with kindness, and added many graces and privileges to it, as have almost all his successors.

To preserve the memory of the favor that the most holy Virgin had bestowed upon her Church and to show his gratitude to God, Pope Paul V instituted the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, o pape Paul V Pope who approved the bull of erection of the Oratory. rdering that it be celebrated in the Order on the Sunday closest to the calends of August. Innocent X increased the solemnity of the feast and permitted it to be celebrated in all the states of the King of Spain. Innocent XII subsequently extended it to the w Innocent XII Pope who beatified Saint Zita in 1696. hole Church and had it inserted into the Roman Martyrology, placing it on September 24.

The most holy Virgin never ceased to protect the Order she had founded; it produced, indeed, under her auspices, admirable men of charity, who, not content with using the alms of the faithful for the ransom of captives, often gave themselves up to restore freedom to those whose faith was in peril in the midst of these barbarian peoples. During long centuries, Mary showed herself, in Africa, to be the gentle consoler of the afflicted. Thus, after the conquest of this pirate den, an immense cry of gratitude rose from all sides toward the Queen of Angels. Her cult was immediately established in Algiers, i n an Alger City associated with the liturgical source of the text. old mosque converted into a church under the title of Our Lady of Victories; a great number of churches and chapels were placed under the patronage of the holy Virgin by Mgr Dupuch, the first bishop of Algiers. The moment having come to give Mary a magnificent testimony of the gratitude of Europe, and in particular of France and Algeria, a temple was raised to her under the title of Our Lady of Africa. This s anctuary, placed on Notre-Dame d'Afrique Marian sanctuary built in Algiers as a sign of gratitude. a plateau at the summit of a grandiose hill, dominates today the city conquered by faith and civilization: it dominates it as an act of gratitude for the past, a solemn manifestation for the present, and a pledge of confidence for the future. The chapel is in the Byzantine style traditional in Africa, interspersed with a Christianized Moorish style, and its great dome, like a beacon of blessing and salvation, appears from afar, symbolizing the virginity of Mary by a crown of lilies, her maternity by a crown of roses, and, at the summit, her royalty by a crown of stars. Ribadeneira; Notre-Dame de France, by M. Hamon, and our notes provided by the Abbé Ant. Ricard.