María de Cervelló
catholic saint and superior of the Third Order of Mercedarians
Feast: 19 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
María, daughter of a Barcelona nobleman, was so moved by a sermon pleading for Christian captives held by the Turks that she resolved to do all she could for them. In 1265 she joined a community of women under the Mercedarians.
They became the Third Order of Our Lady of Ransom, vowing to pray for Christian slaves, and she was their first superior. Her charity to the needy earned her the name María de Socós, 'of Help'. She died at Barcelona on 19 September 1290.
The miracles
The honour paid to her from the time of her death was approved by Pope Innocent XII in 1692.
Why that counted as sanctity
A noblewoman who gave her life to prayer and help for captives.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Mary de Cervellione
- Wikidata Q2398209 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Maria de Cervelló (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.