The patronage of the Dominican Republic and its connection
to the 13th century Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption
of the Captives is especially fitting given the island’s involvement
in the slave trade and its history as a place of refuge and revolution for slaves.
“The story of Our Lady of Ransom is, at its
outset, that of Saint Peter Nolasco, born in Languedoc about 1189. He conceived
the idea of establishing a religious order for the redemption of captives
seized by the Moors on the seas and in Spain itself; they were being cruelly
tormented in their African prisons to make them deny their faith. On August 1,
1218 the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Peter, to his confessor, the
Dominican friar Raymund of Peñafort, and to King James I, and through these
three servants of God established a work of the most perfect charity, the
redemption of captives. Its members would undertake to deliver Christian
captives and offer themselves, if necessary, as payment. Word of the apparition
soon spread over the entire kingdom, and on August 10 the king went to the
cathedral for a Mass celebrated by the bishop of Barcelona during which Saint
Raymund narrated his vision with admirable eloquence and fervor. The king
besought the blessing of the bishop for the heaven-sent plan, and the bishop
bestowed the habit on Saint Peter, who emitted the solemn vow to give himself
as a hostage if necessary.
The Order, thus solemnly established in Spain, was
approved by Gregory IX under the name of Our Lady of Mercy and spread
rapidly.”
