Our Lady of Mercy (La Merced)

In the early thirteenth century, pirates and armies from North Africa held many Christians captive. According to tradition, around 1218 the Virgin Mary appeared in Barcelona to Saint Peter Nolasco, asking him to found a religious order to free captives. With the support of King James I of Aragon and the guidance of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Peter founded the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, the Mercedarians.

Besides the usual vows, the Mercedarians took a fourth vow: to offer themselves in exchange for captives in danger of losing their faith, if necessary. Over the centuries they ransomed thousands of people. The feast of Our Lady of Mercy was extended to the whole Church in 1696. Mercedarian friars came to the Americas with the first missionaries, and devotion to La Merced spread across Latin America.

September 24 is a national holiday in the Dominican Republic, where Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes is patroness alongside Our Lady of Altagracia, and pilgrims climb the Santo Cerro near La Vega. Barcelona celebrates La Mercè, its biggest festival, with human towers, giants and fireworks. In Argentina General Manuel Belgrano named her General of his army after the victory at Tucumán on September 24, 1812.

Peru, Ecuador and many other countries also honor her with processions, and Mercedarians today work with prisoners and victims of modern slavery.