MERCEDARIAN SISTERS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

SOURCES:
Constituciones de las Hermanas Mercedarias del Santísimo Sacramento - X Capítulo general l976, Mexico City (l976); Directorio de las Hermanas Mercedarias del Santísimo Sacramento - XII Capítulo general, julio l982, Mexico City l982.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Alma de temple. Vida de la R.M.M. del Refugio Aguilar y Torres, Mexico City l960; Félix M. Monasterio, CMF, Vida y virtudes de la sierva de Dios María del Refugio Aguilar y Torres, fundadora de las Hermanas Mercedarias del Santísimo Sacramento, Mexico City; María de los Angeles Correa Reyes, HMSS, María del Refugio, mi Madre, Mexico City l985.

The sisters were established in Mexico City on March 25, l9l0. The Congregation was declared of diocesan right on June l5, l922 and spiritually aggregated to the Mercedarian Order on July ll, l925.

l. THE FOUNDRESS

María del Refugio Aguilar Torres was the person chosen by God to spread the knowledge and love of the Blessed Sacrament into the world by teaching young people by means of the Mercedarians Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

She was born in San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) on September 2l, l866 to Angel Aguilar y Suatto and Refugio Torres y López. She grew up guided by her parents who were true practicing Christians and when she was 20 she married Angel Cancino, only to please her parents. She had two children, the first of whom died when he was still little, and a girl called María del Refugio, like her mother. Her husband died when she was barely 22 years old, and she went back home with her little girl, 40 days old. Under the guidance of Franciscan father José Sánchez Primo, she devoted herself to a pious life and joined the Third Franciscan Order, where she became novice mistress. Some years later, when her daughter had received her teaching degree in Morelia, she thought of consecrating herself totally to the Lord in the Company of Mary. However, father don Vicente M. Saragoza convinced her that it would be better for her to establish a religious congregation with the objective of promoting the knowledge of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, to whom she was very devoted. With two great women, later to become sisters Guadalupe Hernández and María Olivares, on March 20, l9l0, she started the foundation of the new Institute in Mexico City.

After having overcome the difficulties arising from a lack of vocations lasting until l9l9, and with the advice of Mercedarian father, Alfredo Scotti, she arranged all that was necessary for the diocesan approval of the Congregation which she obtained in l922; three years later the Congregation was affiliated to the Mercedarian Order.

Mother Aguilar was concerned about the development of her work. Fearing that the Calles persecution of l926 might be fatal for the Order, she thought of expanding the Institute to other nations.

She had really wished to see the approval of her Congregation by the holy see, but the Lord wished to reward her for her heroic virtues by calling her to himself on April 24, l937.

Mother Aguilar was always a devoted daughter of the church, obedient to ecclesiastical authorities. She underwent many sufferings which ruined her health, but she endured them with a great sense of resignation and acceptance of the divine will.

2. PROFILE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSTITUTE

The Institute’s specific goal is the education of children and youth and their formation in eucharistic worship and devotion seeking to have Christ rule in the world and to spread greater love for Jesus in the eucharist, the center of all sciences. This is the reason why the Institute has schools and academies and works very hard to prepare children for their first communion.

The Constitutions approved on November 20, l977 present the spirit and goal of the Congregation in these terms:
“The spirit of the Congregation is eucharistic and marian and it is dedicated to the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and to the apostolate of teaching and evangelization” (no. 2). “The objective of the Congregation is the sanctification of its members by following Christ with evangelical radicalism, seeking the expansion of the reign of Christ-Eucharist and love for the Virgin Mary” (no. 3). “The aggregation to the Mercedarian Order presupposes on our part a profound marian love which is nourished by an authentic faith and which brings us closer to our Blessed Mother in imitation of her virtues” (no. 8).

One characteristic of the Mercedarian spirit is charity; this is also the case of the Congregation of the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament who exercise their activities with a liberating objective. In this regard, the directory explains that the virtue of charity “must become alive every minute of our existence and be projected toward our neighbors. Furthermore, it is our obligation because we belong to the Mercedarian Order which was founded primarily to redeem captives, under the impetus of love. This must fill us with zeal to liberate them from every form of slavery” (no. 7). This is why one of the Congregation’s protector is “saint Peter Nolasco, the instrument used by the Blessed Virgin to liberate countless captives who were in danger of losing their faith” (Directory l2).

The Congregation started on March 25, l9l0 when Mrs. María del Refugio Aguilar y Torres bought a house/school in Mexico City which she called “School of the Blessed Sacrament”, since the objective she wanted to accomplish was to instill the worship of Jesus-Eucharist among the girls and their families. Little by little, special celebrations were taking place to honor Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament: the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, taking turns for the adoration; thus preparing the day when María Aguilar’s wishes would be fulfilled when, along with Guadalupe Hernández and María Olivares, she received the religious habit from the hands of Fr. Vicente M. Saragoza on February 2, l9ll. On December 25, l9l2, mother Aguilar and her companions and many more who had joined them, consecrated themselves to God with the vow to serve him until death.

The grave political events of l9l3 made them fear for the Order because of a shortage of vocations and also because they had to change their residence. The Order only survived through special divine assistance. However, in l9l9, many new vocations and important events gave new life to the small community. First of all, the archbishop authorized the sisters to take their first religious vows, which they did on February 2, l9l9. A new house was opened, not far from the previous one, to serve as house for the novices and postulants. Finally, mother Aguilar, who had requested a religious director for her Institute from the diocesan curia, obtained one in the person of Fr. Alfredo Scotti who was then provincial of the Mercedarians in Mexico.

Right from the start, Fr. Scotti took great interest in the welfare of the community and, among other things, he dedicated himself to the revision of the Constitutions in agreement with mother Aguilar and with the help of mother Consuelo Olivares to adapt them to the canonical prescriptions, confirming the eucharistic-marian spirit which the foundress had instilled in her daughters from the very beginning.

Meanwhile other houses were opening in Mexico and this expansion meant the hope of obtaining official recognition. In fact, the diocesan curia examined the Constitutions and found them in accordance with canonical laws, sending them to the sacred Congregation for Religious for approval. The approval was obtained, with a rescript of June l5, l922, Prot. no. 2992/22 granted authorization for the diocesan establishment. Msgr. José Mora y del Río, archbishop of Mexico City established it canonically on November l2, l922 as a diocesan Congregation of the “Sisters for the Blessed Sacrament apostolate”. The mothers renewed their religious vows in the new Congregation. Three years later, the master general of the Mercedarians, by a decree of July ll, l925, aggregated the Congregation to the Mercedarian Order and the Congregation took on its new name.
During Calles’ persecution of l926 - on the initiative of the founding mother who wished to avoid the destruction of her Institute, and with the help of the Mercy’s master general, Fr. Carmelo Garrido y Blanco who wrote to his religious requesting their help for the new Congregation - the sisters settled in other nations: this marked the beginning of the Institute’s expansion in Colombia, Chile, Italy and Spain.

When the foundress died, her own daughter who had become a religious on October l5, l920 under the name of María Teresa Cancino Aguilar, took her place at the head of the Congregation. She worked untiringly to achieve what her mother had so wanted: pontifical approval. On July 22, l948 the decretum laudis was granted to the Institute which was already known by its official name “Mercedarians of the Blessed Sacrament”.
At the end of l979, the Congregation had 60 houses, with 35 of them in Mexico, 7 in Colombia, 6 in Italy, 4 in Chile, 3 in the United States, 3 in El Salvador and 2 in Spain. There were 733 professed religious, with 3l novices and some 20 postulants. They dedicate themselves to children and youth education in the spirit of the Congregation.

The general house has its center in Mexico City, l30 Fernández Leal Street; and the general administration is in Rome, 5l Felice Bisleri Street.