Every July 9, Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petkovic is remembered, who told her nuns that they should “follow Christ, listen to Christ, humble themselves in Christ, suffer silently in Christ, burn in Christ, forgive in Christ, love in Christ, sacrifice in Christ.”
Blessed Maria Petkovic was born in Korcula (Croatia) in 1892. She grew up in a very Christian family and became president of the Association of Daughters of Mary. Little by little she felt the call to the vocation and after being part of the Third Secular Order of Saint Francis, she conceived the idea of starting a women’s religious institute.
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Later, with the help of her Bishop, she founded the Congregation of Daughters of Mercy for the education and instruction of female youth. In 1956 the religious institution became pontifical right and its constitutions were approved.
Mother Mary of Jesus Crucified Petkovic was a woman strong in adversity, tender in her affections and a great lover of Jesus crucified. She remained united to prayer, as well as to the directives and advice of the pastors of the Church.
She was always happy when she served those most in need and encouraged her sisters to show with their behavior and sacrifices that God’s love and mercy were in them.
He left for the Father’s House in Rome on July 9, 1966 with a great reputation for holiness, while his congregation continued to expand throughout various countries in Europe and America, dedicating itself to the education of children and youth, and the care of the elderly. and sick, and to the parish apostolate.
Miracle of beatification
On August 26, 1988, the Peruvian submarine Pacocha collided with the Japanese fishing boat Kiowa Maru.
When the captain of the ship died, the then lieutenant Roger Cotrina understood that it would be humanly impossible to avoid the tragedy, since the pressure of the water prevented closing an internal hatch that would keep them alive.
“I was short of breath and then I started thinking with all my might about Sister María Petkovic. I closed my eyes and prayed. I repeated the prayer I had heard, I thought about her and suddenly I saw a bright light,” he said.
At that moment a supernatural force helped him close the hatch.
A military commission later stated that what the sailor did was humanly impossible.
Eight crew members died in the accident, but the 22 survivors assured that thanks to the nun they are alive and that she prevented the disaster from becoming greater.
The nun was beatified by Saint John Paul II on June 6, 2003.
On that occasion, the Pontiff stated: “The figure of the blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified leads me to think about all women from Croatiaboth in those who are married and are happy mothers, and in those who are forever marked by the pain of the loss of a family member in the cruel war of the 1990s, or by other bitter disappointments suffered.
“I think of you, woman, because with your sensitivity, generosity and strength ‘you enrich the understanding of the world and contribute to the full truth of human relationships’ (Letter to women, 2). God has entrusted his creatures to you in a special way, and for this reason you are called to become an important support for the existence of every personparticularly in the family environment.”
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Central Editorial
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