Saint of the Day: Bl. Esther Paniagua Alonso and Bl. María Caridad Álvarez Martín

Religious Sisters and Martyrs (d. 1994)

Their story

+ Esther was born in Izagre, Spain, in 1949, and entered the Augustinian Missionary Sisters at the age of 18.

+ Trained as a nurse, she was assigned to serve in a hospital in Algiers, Algeria. She had a special love for the disabled children she served there.

+ Maria Caridad was born in Santa Cruz de Salceda, Spain, in 1933. She entered the Augustinian Missionary Sisters in 1955. She spent more than 30 years in Algeria, serving the poor and the elderly.

+ Sisters Esther and Maria Caridad were murdered by Muslim fundamentalists of the Armed Islamic Group in the Bab-el-Oud neighborhood as they were making their way to Mass.

+ These two women were beatified with 17 other Algerian martyrs in 2018.

For prayer and reflection

“The souls of the Saints are rejoicing in heaven, the Saints who followed the footsteps of Christ, and since for love of him they shed their blood, they now exult with Christ for ever.”—Entrance Antiphon for the Mass in honor of Several Martyrs

Spiritual Bonus

On this day, certain dioceses and religious communities celebrate a special feast in honor of the Most Holy Redeemer. The feast honors the grace of redemption offered by Christ and was first celebrated in Venice in 1576 in thanksgiving for the end of a plague that was ravaging the city.

Prayer

May the sight of the great number of your holy Martyrs gladden us, O Lord, making our faith stronger and bringing us consolation by the prayers of them all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For Several Martyrs)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.