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The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives, also known as Our Lady of Ransom, or the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, is a Roman Catholic mendicant Order established in 1218 by Saint Peter Nolasco in Barcelona. Its members are known as Mercedarian friars or nuns. Members of the Order are required to take a fourth vow to die for another who is in danger of losing their faith. At the time of its founding, medieval Europe was experiencing frequent warfare between the Christian kingdoms of southern Europe and the Muslims of North Africa, Southern France, Sicily, and the Moorish regions of Spain. A continuous threat to Christian Europeans was capture by Muslim pirates or coastal raiders. For more than six hundred years, prisoners were taken by both sides, and Christians who were captured by Islamic invaders were kept in a state of slavery as war booty. Slaves were an important trade commodity during the 13th century. Even before the First Crusade, hospices and hospitals were organized by Christian cathedrals or by monastic orders, and charitable institutions, like almshouses, were established by confraternities or guilds. The Knights of the original Order of Saint John and the Templars were active during this time. Not much is known of the origins of the Mercedarians or its founder, Saint Peter Nolasco, but it is known that he became concerned about the welfare of Christians captured in Moorish raids, and that he decided to establish a religious Order in order to aid them. In 1203, he began paying the ransom of Christian captives but, as the number of captives was growing each day, he saw the need of creating a religious Order to carry on this work. In 1236, Pope Gregory IX granted the Mercedarians formal recognition as a religious Order under the Rule of Saint Augustine. Off-shoots of the Order include the Mercedarian Recollects, later known as the Discalced Mercedarians, who are an independent Order.

 

 

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