Rita Barcelo y Pages

Mother Rita Barcelo y Pages (20 April 1843 - 14 May 1904) was the Superior Foundress of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation and sister of the Ven. Joaquina Maria Mercedes Barcelo Pages, who was the cofounder of the said order. She is currently nominated for the cause of sainthood, being led by the Philippines, the country in which she gave her mission dedicatedly and devoutly to.^[1][2]

Life and mission

Ines Barcelo 'y Pages was born on April 20, 1843 in Sarria, Barcelona, Spain. She was the second of the five children of Salvador Barcelo and Maria Pages. She joined the contemplative community of the "Beaterio de Mantelatas de San Agustin" in Barcelona and was given the religious name Sor Rita.

On April 6, 1883, she arrived in Manila as one of the four Beatas who volunteered to care for the orphans of the cholera epidemic of 1882. Thet were given charge of the Mandaluyong Orphanage. Within the next few months, other Sisters arrived including her own youngest blood sister Joaquina, then a postulant, who made her profession the following year and was given the name Sor Consuelo. On May 28, 1884, Mother Rita was appointed Prioress of the Mandaluyong Orphanage. In the years that followed, she spent herself completely to the task in humble fidelity, with compassionate dedication and courageous trust in God's love. With her presence, the Orphanage was a haven of joy and mutual love in spite of difficulties and personal offering. With deep tenderness, she took upon herself the needs of those around her. Her life of contemplation was sustained by her vigils before the Sacramental Presence and her motherly care and compassion for the orphans. Unfortunately, ill health and other difficulties in the mission led the other Sisters to go back to Spain. By 1888, Mother Rita and Mother Consuelo were the only Spanish sisters left behind. the zeal and the selfless example of Mother Rita had borne fruit.

In 1889 Chapter of Augustinian Fathers in Manila granted admission to Filipino women to be Augustinian Tertiary Sisters. In 1890, the first Filipino Augustinian sisters made their Religious profession and they helped in caring the orphans. The small community continued to grow and survived the crisis of the Philippine Revolution in 1896, but it was the Spanish–American War in 1898 that separated Mother Rita from her 16 Filipino Sisters who were then ordered to return to their homes. In 1897,after 13 years as Superior of the Orphanage, Mother Rita was appointed Mistress of Novices, although not for long. Despite her pleas to remain with them she was obliged by the Augustinian Father to go back to Spain. In the spirit of obedience, she left on March 13, 1899. In her subsequent and continuous communications, she expressed her deep longing to return to the Philippines to live with the Sisters and the people she has learned to love. Just when there was hope for her return, her accidental fall caused a slipped disk in her spinal column. After intense pain and suffering, Mother Rita died in Barcelona, Spain on May 14, 1904, in the same religious community where she made her first profession on August 21, 1873.

A truly great and valiant woman, Mother Rita left to her Filipino Sisters in heroic example of compassion and enduring service.

Canonization

After Mother Consuelo was given the title of a "Venerable" in December 2012, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints announced already a close opening for the process of Mother Rita, making her way to sainthood, shall only need a miracle to continue onwards. Her cause for sainthood was proposed the Augustinian Recollects and of the Congregation of the Augustinian Sisters alongside with the Archdiocese of Manila. Today she is commemorated as a "Servant of God" within the Roman Catholic Church

References

External links

• Mother Rita Barcelo Y Pages, OSA at Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation
• Hagiography Circle