Saint Maria Bernarda Bütler
Swiss Capuchin nun who founded a missionary congregation in Ecuador and Colombia
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Founder, Religious, Missionary
- Life
- 1848 – 1924
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 19 May
- Countries
- Switzerland, Ecuador, Colombia
Life story
Verena Bütler was born on 28 May 1848 in Auw, in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, the fourth of eight children. She finished elementary school at fourteen and then worked on the family farm. At eighteen she entered a convent as a postulant but soon went home, sensing that it was not her path.
On 12 November 1867 she entered the Franciscan monastery of Mary Help of Sinners at Altstätten. She received the habit on 4 May 1868 with the name Maria Bernarda and made her profession on 4 October 1869. She later served as mistress of novices and was elected superior three times, for nine consecutive years in all.
In 1888 she accepted an invitation from Bishop Pedro Schumacher of Portoviejo in Ecuador and left Altstätten on 19 June with six companions. There she founded the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Sinners. The first mission was at Chone, a place with few priests and weak religious practice, and she faced poverty, extreme heat and misunderstanding from some church authorities. Some of the sisters later separated to form a congregation of their own.
In 1895 a violent persecution of the Church in Ecuador forced her to flee to Colombia with 14 sisters. Bishop Eugenio Biffi received them at Cartagena on 2 August 1895. She remained there for the rest of her life, serving as superior general for more than thirty years, and the congregation spread to Austria and Brazil. She died at Cartagena on 19 May 1924. Pope John Paul II beatified her on 29 October 1995, and Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on 12 October 2008.
Works and witness
- Entered the Franciscan monastery at Altstätten in 1867 and served three terms as superior
- Went to Ecuador in 1888 with six companions at the invitation of the bishop of Portoviejo
- Founded the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Sinners
- Fled to Colombia in 1895 and settled in Cartagena
- Canonized on 12 October 2008
Saints from the same country
References
- Vatican, biography of María Bernarda (Verena) Bütler (1848-1924), canonization of 12 October 2008
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.