Mary de Cervellione
Encyclopedia
Saint Mary de Cervellione (de Cervello; Mary of Cervellon) (born about 1230 at Barcelona
; died there 19 September 1290) was a Catalan superior of a Third Order
of Mercedarians. She is a Catholic saint; her cult, which began immediately after her death, was approved by Pope Innocent XII
in 1692.
She is invoked especially against shipwreck
and is generally represented with a ship in her hand. Her feast is celebrated on 25 September. On account of her charity towards the needy she began to be called Maria de Socos (Mary of Help).
In addition to the usual vows of tertiaries, they promised to pray for the Christian slaves. Mary was elected the first superior.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; died there 19 September 1290) was a Catalan superior of a Third Order
Third order
The term Third Order designates persons who live according to the Third Rule of a Roman Catholic religious order, an Anglican religious order, or a Lutheran religious order. Their members, known as Tertiaries, are generally lay members of religious orders, i.e...
of Mercedarians. She is a Catholic saint; her cult, which began immediately after her death, was approved by Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...
in 1692.
She is invoked especially against shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
and is generally represented with a ship in her hand. Her feast is celebrated on 25 September. On account of her charity towards the needy she began to be called Maria de Socos (Mary of Help).
Life
She was a daughter of a Spanish nobleman named William de Cervellon. One day she heard a sermon preached by Bernard de Corbarie, the superior of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Ransom at Barcelona, and was so deeply affected by his pleading for the Christian slaves and captives in the hands of the Turks that she resolved to do all in her power for their alleviation. 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 under the direction of Bernard de Corbarie. 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.