Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament

The foundation of the Institute coincided with the fall of President Porfirio Diaz’s government. He was a ruler who refused to loosen his grip on power and together with the state of oppression and poverty, in which the greater part of the population lived, combined to provide the trigger for a revolution. At this same time, the Church would be subjected to cruel persecution, its ministers imprisoned or exiled, its property confiscated and its charitable establishments closed down, while the whole country was awash with the blood of martyrs. During the period of fighting Maria del Refugio set up an improvised first aid post from which, assisted by her companions and two doctor friends, she treated the wounded. She also organized collections of food and clothing to distribute among poor families. In 1917, a new Constitution was declared denying the Church a legal status and stripping priests of their civic rights, withdrawing recognition of religious communities and vows, outlawing denominational education and banning public worship outside of churches, as well as decreeing that all ecclesiastical property should pass into the ownership of the state. At that time, the Colegio del Santisimo Sacramento moved to a very small neighborhood and the work began to extend and improve the building that would now become the school. The Sisters were destined to spend several years surrounded by bricklayers, plumbers, and carpenters while struggling with the recurring weekly problem of how to pay the wages, for there were days when they did not have a cent and had to trust in Providence alone to see them through.

Maria del Refugio was friendly with some bishops, including the Bishop of Tulancingo, Jose Juan de Jesus Herrera y Pina, who had been taking an interest in the community since 1914, visiting it often and offering advice. It was he who suggested they ask Archbishop Mora y del Rio to appoint a director to give them a canonical framework and offer them guidance.

Towards the end of 1918, the Mercedarian Father Alfredo Scotti turned up with instructions to check up on how the community was being run. Until then the life of the community had been organized on an informal basis and what was still needed was a constitution. Maria del Refugio drew up some rough drafts in which she defined her ideas on religious life. The Apostolate of the Blessed Sacrament had only three members when it was founded; by January 1919 there were fifteen and one year later twenty-seven. Among the young girls who entered the community at that time was Maria’s daughter, Refugio Cancino, who until then had led an ordinary life as a laywoman. In August 1920, she decided to enter the Institute founded by her mother and on October 12th she took the habit, assuming the religious name of Maria Teresa. Many sister houses were opened in 1919 and some of these foundations suffered extreme poverty and food shortages. However, Maria del Refugio was happy to put up with the precarious conditions, reminding herself of St. Teresa’s maxim that “all principles are painful”, and remaining true to her conviction that once one had started something, one should persevere with it no matter what difficulties might arise, if it was the will of God and the Superiors.

In view of the number of houses and the well-organized footing of the Order, the Archbishop put the Apostolate’s application for diocesan approval in the hands of Father Scotti, together with letters of recommendation from several bishops for him to take personally to Rome. On June 15, 1922, the Congregation of Religious, finding that all was in order, granted permission for the canonical foundation. The community was gradually taking on a Mercedarian character. Out of gratitude to Our Lady of Mercy, Maria del Refugio requested the latter’s incorporation into the Order of Mercy, this being granted on June 11, 1925, so that they would now be known as Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.had only three members when it was founded; by January 1919 there were fifteen and one year later twenty-seven. Among the young girls who entered the community at that time was Maria’s daughter, Refugio Cancino, who until then had led an ordinary life as a laywoman. In August 1920, she decided to enter the Institute founded by her mother and on October 12th she took the habit, assuming the religious name of Maria Teresa. Many sister houses were opened in 1919 and some of these foundations suffered extreme poverty and food shortages. However, Maria del Refugio was happy to put up with the precarious conditions, reminding herself of St. Teresa’s maxim that “all principles are painful”, and remaining true to her conviction that once one had started something, one should persevere with it no matter what difficulties might arise, if it was the will of God and the Superiors.

The Government’s attacks on the Church became increasingly frequent. In February 1925 the President evoked discourse with the aim of establishing a religion which was answerable to the civil authorities. That same week most Catholic schools were closed down. The bishops ordered headmasters of Catholic schools to sign declarations in which they undertook to observe Article 3 of the Constitution which stipulated: “Religious corporations, ministers of religion, societies which exclusively or mainly carry out educational activities, and associations or societies concerned with the dissemination of any religious creed, will not involve themselves in any way in establishments which provide primary or secondary education, teacher training, or classes for workers or peasants”. They all signed except Father Carranza and the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Maria del Refugio could not in all conscience comply with a law which constituted an attack on God and the freedom of man. A few weeks later two agents from the Ministry of the Interior turned up at the Colegio del Santisimo Sacramento with orders to search the premises. They found the Sisters wearing their habits. Pistols in hand they went over the whole house, even looking under the beds, saying that they had orders to shoot “any priests they found there”. In order to avoid any desecration, Maria del Refugio carried the Blessed Sacrament under her cloak as she accompanied them around the house talking to them forcefully and with considerable courage, and replying to their questions in the following vein: “I am not afraid of you closing my oratories, as you say you could, because you will never be able to close the oratory which I carry in my heart”.

Seeing the religious question in Mexico becoming ever more difficult, Maria del Refugio had been intending for some time to establish houses in Spain and Italy as a means of preserving the vocational calling of her nuns and keeping the life of the Institute going. The Superior General and her counselors would remain in Mexico City but would leave their convent for the time being to take refuge in the cellars of a neighboring house from which they would continue running the Institute. Because of the religious persecution, the Congregation had set about expanding abroad. In 1929 the training center for the Sisters in Oklahoma was operational, as well as two schools in Cuba, one in El Salvador, one in Chile, one in Spain, one in Columbia and another in Italy. The house in Chapultepec had been denounced to the authorities as a Catholic school and even though it had not operated as a school since 1926, it continued to be raided by government agents, whose inspections finally confirmed the existence of a religious community. In September, 1930 the Mercedarians were dispossessed of the only property they owned, and which they had acquired by virtue of so much effort and sacrifice. Maria del Refugio conveyed the news to the Sisters in the following words: “Recently the Lord has seen fit to let us be dispossessed of our headquarters, which we had acquired at the cost of so many sacrifices and in which we had invested so many hopes. Blessed be the Lord in His gifts and may His divine will be done!”

In September 1936, Maria del Refugio moved into the last house she lived in Mexico City. A few weeks later while she was fervently praying in the room which she had converted into a chapel, she came down with pneumonia. After several complications, she was in a state of total debilitation, unable to move and in great pain, which became agonizing when attempts were made to move her; she bore her suffering with supreme patience and resignation. On April 24, 1937, she died quite peacefully.

The memory of a woman of exemplary virtue who was devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and anxious to share that devotion wherever she went, and indeed with the whole world, was a source of comfort to her religious daughters, friends, and acquaintances and filled them with hope. It was not long before they were to begin to experience the fruits of her intercessions on their behalf in heaven. During the course of the following years, the Institute of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was to undergo a remarkable development. Within ten years the number of houses and personnel had doubled, and on July 22, 1948, Pope Pius XII granted it a laudatory decree. The Foundress’ saintly reputation would continue to grow as more and more people witnessed a change in their way of life after becoming acquainted with the life and works of Maria del Refugio Aguilar y Torres.

She is a model Christian because, having acknowledged her human weakness in the spiritual exercises of 1896, she sought ways of redemption through the Eucharist; as a model mother because she encouraged her children to aspire to saintly ideals; as a model Franciscan tertiary because she saw the value of that form of organized apostolate and did everything possible to further its development; as a model catechist because her catechizing was aimed at teaching people to love and respond to the Eucharist; as a model teacher because she sought to turn her teaching to an experience which would lead to the discovery of God; as an exemplary sister because she was faithful and magnanimous living according to her vows and because she was meticulous in observing the rules; an exemplary Mercedarian because she made her life and her Flag of the 12th Country apostolate into a work of redemption. On account of all these attributes, it was proposed that she be elevated to the honor of the altars, and the cause for her canonization was formally opened in 1982. Maria del Refugio, far from being forgotten, stands out as a model of Eucharistic living for the new millennium.

Today, the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament are teaching and sharing their love of God in 13 countries with a membership of over 600 Sisters. Africa is the most recent of the 13 countries.