Saint of the Day: Bl. Micaela Hernán Martínez

Religious and Martyr (1881-1936)

Her life

+ Micaela was born in Burgos, Spain, and educated in a boarding school operated by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. 

+ As a young woman, she was a member of a sodality called the “Daughters of Mary of the Miraculous Medal” and she worked at a hospice in her hometown.

+ On November 21, 1901, Micaela entered the Daughters of Charity and was assigned to various positions in the years that followed, including the provincial hospital in Albacete and in schools in Jerez, Santander, and Valencia, where she worked primarily with small children.

+ With the eruption of the Spanish Civil War, Sister Micaela went into hiding with other members of her local community. The sisters and a priest chaplain were captured on August 17, 1936, and, after a show trial, they were shot to death on the following day for refusing to renounce their faith. 

+ Blessed Micaela Hernán Martínez was beatified with other martyrs of the Spanish Civil War in 2013. 

For prayer and reflection

“The Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”—Revelation 7:17

Spiritual bonus

On August 18 we also remember the Jesuit priest Saint Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga. Born into a poor family in Vina del Mar, Chile, he was educated by the Jesuits and felt called religious life and service of the poor. Ordained in 1933, Alberto became a teacher and friend of youth and the poor, eventually establishing hostels and shelters for homeless and abandoned children. He also wrote several books and established a journal to promote Church teachings. Saint Alberto died in Santiago, Chile, in 1952 and was canonized in 2005. 

Prayer

O God, who gladden us today with the annual commemoration of blessed Micaela, graciously grant that we may be helped by her merits, just as our lives are lit up by the splendor of her example of chastity and fortitude. 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 (from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For a Virgin Martyr)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.