Every August 31, the Church celebrates San Ramón Nonato, religious of the Order of Mercy, born in 1204, in Portell, a town in the ancient Crown of Aragon (Spain).
Patron of the unborn
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The nickname “unborn”, a term that comes from Latin nonnatus (unborn), was given to him by the way in which Ramón came into this world: he was extracted, by cesarean section, from his mother’s womb when she was dead. By virtue of that singular fact, tradition has conferred on San Ramón the title of “patron saint of pregnant women, parturients, midwives and newborns.”
If there is someone who has gone through the same ordeal or has suffered a relative or similar circumstance, whether mother, father or child, they cannot have a better friend and intercessor than Saint Ramón. The same must be said of the little ones who for various reasons could not or were not allowed to be born.
Redeemer of the captives
Ramón joined the Royal and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of Captives, whose members are known as Mercedarians. The Order of Mercy, as it is also known, was founded by Saint Peter Nolasco in 1218 with a specific purpose: to rescue Christians taken prisoner by Muslims in North Africa.
Ramón was ordained a priest in 1222 and served as superior in several communities of his Order for several years. When the time came, he was sent as a “captive rescuer” to North Africa. There he paid ransom for several Christians until he ran out of money and, according to the fourth Mercedarian vow, he had to offer himself in exchange for a prisoner.
A padlock to keep him quiet… but he didn’t shut up
In captivity, Ramón dedicated himself to announcing the Lord and giving comfort to those, like him, who were deprived of their freedom, living in subhuman conditions. The saint stood firm in confinement with only one purpose: to strengthen the faith of those whom Christ had placed under his spiritual care.
With his testimony, he sparked many conversions, even among non-Christians, something that terribly angered his Muslim jailers, who ordered him to be tortured on different occasions. As punishment, he was publicly whipped more than once, and on one occasion they even pierced his lips with a hot iron to place a padlock in his mouth so he could stop speaking.
It was eight long months that San Ramón Nonato had to spend in this situation, until Pedro Nolasco was able to send other members of the Order to rescue him.
From the hand of the Virgin of Mercy
Saint Ramón Nonato, back in Spain, was named cardinal by Pope Gregory IX. The saint assumed his charge with simplicity and continued living with the same evangelizing spirit as always. Although he was already a prince of the Church, he continued to dress austerely and never left his humble cell in the Barcelona convent.
He was later summoned to Rome by the Pope. Ramón undertook the trip, but upon arriving in Cardona, about ten kilometers from Barcelona, he was surprised by a violent fever that took his life. The good “unborn” left for the Father’s House on August 31, 1240, at only 36 years old.
“Women, pray to Saint Ramón Nonato” (Pope Francis)
On August 31, 2020, Pope Francis sent a message to the Mercedarian community of the San Ramón Nonato Sanctuary in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on the occasion of his feast day.
In the letter the Pope recommended that couples pray to this saint when they want to have a child: “When in the Audiencia a couple asks me for my blessing for a child to come, I tell them to pray to San Ramón Nonato, and if they are from the Argentina I recommend that you stop by the sanctuary on Cervantes Street. As you see, I have them in mind,” said the Pontiff.
Saint Ramón Nonato, pray for us, especially for the “unborn”!
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If you want to know more about this saint, we recommend the following article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Ramon_Nonato.
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