Joaquina Vedruna de Mas

Joaquina Vedruna de Mas was a Spanish nun who founded the Carmelite Sisters of Charity, a congregation dedicated to the education of girls and the care of the sick. She was born in Barcelona on April 16, 1783, to a noble and pious family. She had a strong desire to become a Carmelite nun since she was 13, but her parents arranged her marriage to Teodoro de Mas, a lawyer and landowner, when she was 16. They had a happy marriage and nine children, but they also shared a deep religious spirit and became members of the Third Order of Saint Francis. Joaquina faced many trials in her life, such as the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, which forced her to flee with her children while her husband stayed behind to fight as a volunteer. He died in 1816, leaving her a widow at 33. She moved to Vic and devoted herself to charitable works among the poor, the sick and the women. She also wore the habit of the Third Order Franciscans and prayed fervently. In 1826, she felt called by God to start a new religious institute, inspired by the Carmelite spirituality. Her spiritual director, a Capuchin friar named Esteban de Olot, and the bishop of Vic, Pablo Jesús Corcuera, supported her project and helped her write the rule. She made her vows along with eight other women on January 6, 1826, taking the name of Joaquina of Saint Francis of Assisi. She became the first superior of the new congregation, which was called the Carmelite Sisters of Charity. The sisters opened schools, hospitals and convents in different places of Catalonia and Spain, serving the needs of the people with love and joy. Joaquina was a mystic who had a special devotion to the Holy Trinity and transmitted it to her daughters. She also had a close friendship with St. Anthony Mary Claret, who offered her spiritual guidance and protection. In 1850, the congregation received the papal approval from Pope Pius IX. Joaquina resigned as superior in 1851 due to her poor health. She suffered from a progressive paralysis that left her immobile for four years. She died of cholera during an epidemic in Vic on August 28, 1854. She was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940 and canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1959. Her feast day is celebrated on May 22 by the Discalced Carmelites and on August 28 by the Carmelite Sisters of Charity.