Blessed Laura Vicuña
Twelve-year-old Chilean pupil of the Salesian sisters, beatified in 1988
- Rank
- Blessed
- Kind
- Young saint, Virgin, Layperson
- Life
- 1891 – 1904
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 22 January
- Countries
- Chile, Argentina
Life story
Laura del Carmen Vicuña Pino was born on 5 April 1891 in Santiago, Chile, while the country was in the middle of a civil war. Her family fled south; her father, José Domingo Vicuña, died soon afterwards and left Mercedes Pino with two small daughters. Mercedes crossed into Argentina to find work and was employed by Manuel Mora, who owned an estate in the Neuquén region. Accounts say she lived with him, a situation that troubled Laura throughout her youth. Some later researchers even doubt that her parents were ever lawfully married.
From 1900 Laura was a boarder at the school run by the Salesian Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Junín de los Andes. The beatification records say she made her first communion in 1901 and was remembered by the sisters as a serious and gentle child. According to the accounts, Mora treated her harshly, and she offered her life so that her mother might escape that situation. These stories rest mainly on the testimony of the sisters and her family; there is no independent source.
Her health failed from tuberculosis, worsened by beatings from Mora, and she died on 22 January 1904 in Junín de los Andes at the age of twelve. The Church declared her venerable on 5 June 1986, and Pope John Paul II beatified her on 3 September 1988. Her feast day is 22 January. She is often cited as a patron of victims of abuse.
Works and witness
- Boarded at the Salesian sisters' school in Junín de los Andes from 1900
- Made her first communion in 1901
- According to accounts, offered her life for her mother's change of circumstances
- Died of tuberculosis on 22 January 1904, aged twelve
- Beatified on 3 September 1988
Patron of
Victims of abuse
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum (22 January)
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints: biography and beatification records (John Paul II, 3 September 1988)
- Salesian biographical sources on Laura Vicuña
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.