Our Lady of Mercy

«La Mercè,» Mother of captives · Patroness of Barcelona

From Our Lady of Mercy an entire religious order was born, dedicated to ransoming captives. Mother of mercy and of prisoners, she is the much-loved patroness of Barcelona.

Päritolu ja ajalugu

The devotion is bound up with the founding of the Order of Mercy for the ransom of Christian captives. According to tradition, in 1218 the Virgin inspired Saint Peter Nolasco, King James I of Aragon and Saint Raymond of Penyafort to create an order dedicated to ransoming captives; thus was born the Mercedarian Order, which presents Mary as Mother of Mercy.

In Barcelona, after the locust plague of 1687, the city entrusted itself to Our Lady of Mercy and the Council named her patroness. Pope Innocent XII extended her feast to the whole Church in 1696, setting it on 24 September, and her patronage over the city was ratified by the Pope in 1868. Since 1902 the great Festa Major de la Mercè has been celebrated.