Foundress of Sisters Adorers (1809-1865)
Maria
Micaela Desmaisières y Lopez de Dicastillo was born in
Madrid, Spain, on January 1, 1809. Her father was a high
ranking Officer in the Spanish Army and her mother was
Lady-in-waiting of the then Spanish Queen, Maria Luisa de
Parma. Micaela was the 5th of the 10 children born to the
couple. At the age of 13, Micaela lost her father;
however, her mother did not fail to bring up the children
in true Christian faith
From her childhood Maria Micaela was very fond of spending
time before the Blessed Sacrament and of helping the poor
and needy. She had the whole-hearted approval and support
of her mother in this. In her Autobiography we read that,
when her Ayah took her out for evening walks, she used to
bribe her and spend that time in a church. Although she
was very pious and kind-hearted, her life unfolded in the
high circles of the Spanish and French Nobility. Her
brother Diego was the Spanish Ambassador to France and
Belgium. So young Micaela spent a lot of her time in the
Royal Palaces of Spain, France and Belgium, attending
Royal parties, dances and other gatherings. She had a very
cordial relationship with the Monarchs of these countries.
Dances, parties, Social gatherings, horse rides were the
order of the day for her, although she did not neglect her
charitable works. She wrote in the Autobiography that the
mornings were spent for God, in prayer and charitable
works, and the evenings in worldly enjoyments.
It was at the age of 35 that her eyes were opened to the
painful realities of life. Young Micaela was taken to the
St John of God Hospital in Madrid by a friend of hers,
Lady Ignacia Rico de Grande, who was advised by her
confessor – Fr Eduardo Jose de Carasa, SJ, who will
eventually become Micaela’s spiritual director. In this
Hospital, while visiting the wards of patients with
sexually transmitted diseases, she took note of a
particular young girl, who had a luxurious and expensive
Cashmere Shawl on her bed. It called the attention of
Micaela, because she herself had purchased a similar one
around that time in Paris for her sister-in-law and knew
very well its value. “If only you had the money that cost
you to buy this shawl!…” “I brought this from my home!”
This was the beginning of an encounter that brought to
light the pathetic story of that only daughter of a
Banker, who became a victim of prostitution through
deception. For the first time, Micaela came face to face
with a reality until then she was unaware of: the painful
plight of such girls and women. The story of this girl and
those of many others made Micaela convince herself that
something has to be done for the moral and social
rehabilitation and liberation of socially marginalized
young women, especially of the victims of prostitution and
sexual abuse.
With the help her friend, Lady Ignacia Rico de Grande, she
opened a Shelter Home – Centre of Our Lady of the Forsaken
– on April 21, 1845, at No.8, Dos Amigos Street, Madrid.
Here at this Centre, these girls would remain for a period
of time, in order to be rehabilitated before God and
Society.
Since Micaela had to accompany her brother and family to
France and Belgium, she entrusted the Centre to a
Committee of pious Noble Ladies. They looked after the
girls for some time, but at the end she realized that the
effort was a failure. Then she looked for a Religious
Order to take charge of the Centre; the outcome was still
worse. Micaela also tried her hand at employing teachers
to look after these girls. However, nothing produced
positive results. Finally, one night, while in prayer, the
Lord made her understand very distinctly: It is YOU I want
in my work. All these efforts caused her a lot of
suffering, unpleasant moments and criticism from family
members and even the Clergy in general.
However, despite all odds and opposition from family and
friends, in 1850, she left her home to look after the
unwanted of society, living with them. Accustomed to a
luxurious life, this new experience was very painful,
however, her love for Jesus whom she saw in those
unfortunate victims of sexual exploitation, enabled her to
go forward courageously. Love for Christ in the Eucharist
was the soul of her work.
In order to give continuity to this work, Maria Micaela –
under the name of Mother Sacramento – founded the
Congregation of Ladies Adorers Handmaids of the Blessed
Sacrament and of Charity, in 1856. She made her religious
profession with a group of 7 companions. Soon the work
began to spread all over Spain. By 1865, there were 7
Houses of Sisters Adorers where over a thousand young
girls were being rehabilitated or protected from the
clutches of prostitution. Several other Houses were in the
process of opening, as requests were pouring in for more
and more Centres of this sort. Hundreds of young girls
joined the Congregation attracted by the Charism:
Eucharistic Adoration and Liberation of marginalized girls
and women.
In 1865, Spain was ravaged by Cholera epidemic. The town
of Valencia was most affected and Mother Sacramento had a
House there. Hearing of the news, she rushed there to
assist the sisters and girls, despite objections from
friends and well-wishers and the tearful pleas of her
sisters and girls in Madrid. True to her desire to become
a Martyr of Charity, soon after her arrival in Valencia,
while attending the cholera patients, she herself became a
victim of the epidemic and died on August 25, 1865, at the
age of 56. Pope Pius XI, who canonized her on March 4,
1934, in his homily hailed St Maria Micaela of the Most
Holy Sacrament a Martyr of Charity.
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