Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
Blessed Joaquina Vedruna de Mas (also known as Joachima) (1783–1854) was born in Barcelona, Spain and died there in 1854. At the age of 16, Joaquina married the Spanish nobleman Theodore de Mas with whom she had eight children. In 1816, when Napoleon invaded Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, Joachima had to flee with the children while Theodore remained behind and was later killed. The young widow Joaquina led a life of austerity and chose to wear the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis as her ordinary dress. She spent much time in prayer and visiting the sick. Several years later, after ensuring her children were provided for, the 42-year-old Joaquina retired to Vic, Spain, where she founded the Institute of the Carmelites of Charity, whose sisters are dedicated to tending the sick and teaching. In the midst of the fratricidal wars occurring at the time, Joachima was briefly imprisoned and, later, exiled to France for several years.
In spite of serious challenges posed by civil war and secular opposition, the institute she founded soon spread into Catalonia. Thereafter communities were established throughout Spain and South America. Sickness ultimately compelled her to resign as superior of her order; although she actually died during a cholera epidemic, over the final four years of her life, she slowly succumbed to paralysis.
At her death in 1854 at the age of 71, Joachima was known and admired for her high degree of prayer, deep trust in God and selfless charity. She was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1940 and was canonized in 1959.
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