Our Lady of Ransom

A Spanish honorific title for Mary is “Nuestra Señora de la Merced”, or “Our Lady of Ransom”. In Latin, this is “Maria de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum”. The name is also “Our Lady of the Slaves”. This title refers to the ransom of Christians who are enslaved by the Moors and alludes to a religious order of the same name in Spain. Our Lady of Ransom/the Slaves is the patron saint of this order. The name given to Mary is an honorific title and has been added to the Litany of Loreto.

Back in time…
During the period from the 8th to the 15th century, a large part of the Iberian Peninsula was owned by Moors, who were followers of Islam. Under the rule of the Moors, Portuguese and Spaniards were forced to convert to Allah. Those who refused were sold as slaves and ended up in the service of Muslims. Only if sufficient money was paid for a ransom could a subjugated Portuguese or Spaniard escape slavery. This time of the absence of civil rights affected millions deeply. Among Christians, this brought fear and horror.

The Order of Mercedarians is the Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives, or “Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum” in full Latin, was founded to ransom slaves. The establishment of the order in 1218, though some sources suggest 1222, was primarily the work of Peter Nolasco (c. 1180-1256). He was a knight born in the south of France in the town of Mas-Saintes-Puelles, near the major city of Toulouse. He intensely disapproved of the actions of Muslims and wished to oppose them. Peter Nolasco fought against the Albigensians during a crusade. He was a loyal follower of James I of Aragon (1208-1276), King of Aragon (1213-1276), Valencia (1237-1276), Majorca (1231-1276), and Count of Barcelona (1213-1276). This king was nicknamed “the Conqueror” and dedicated himself to the “Reconquista” (the reconquest/conquest) of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

Petrus Nolascus was canonised in 1628. He is the patron saint of Barcelona, prisoners and slaves. Petrus Nolascus is depicted in the white habit of the Mercedarians and the coat of arms of the King of Aragon.

Merced is Spanish for, among other things, ransom, redemption, mercy, forgiveness, and remission. The Order of the Mercedarians places itself under the protection of Mary, and as a result, She receives the honorary title. Both men and women are members of the order. It has happened that they paid the ransom by offering themselves as slaves in order to free the slave. The order's rule is based on that of Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and was written in 1223 by the Catalan Dominican Raymond of Peñafort (c. 1175-1275). He was a legal advisor to King James I of Aragon. This ecclesiastical law scholar is considered a co-founder of the Order of the Mercedarians. The core mission of this organisation is to buy back slaves who are Christian and grant them their freedom again. Pope Gregory IX, Pope from 1227 to 1241, approved the rule in 1235.

Raymund of Peñafort, along with Ivo Hélory (1253-1303), is the patron saint of lawyers. Ivo Hélory is also called Ivo of Brittany, Yves de Tréguier, and Yves of Kermartin.

The ransoming of slaves is also carried out by the Trinitarians. This is a medieval order with the same objectives as the Mercedarians.

The honorific title of Mary “de la Merced” is transformed by people into Mercedes. Spanish Catholics subsequently frequently choose Mercedes as a name for their daughters.

Later, the name Mercedes would become a very well-known concept in the automotive world. German Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (1834-1900) was an industrialist, engineer, and designer. In 1885, he developed the first motorcycle, and in 1886, the four-wheeled motor vehicle. He founded the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG). An important client was Emil Jellinek (1853-1918), an international businessman and consul for Austria-Hungary. In 1900, he placed a large order with DMG for the construction of nearly 40 race cars. He demanded that these cars be named Mercedes, after the nickname of his 10-year-old daughter, Mercédès Adrienne Ramona Manuela Jellinek (1889-1929). From 1902 onwards, all DMG cars were produced under the Mercedes name. Emil Jellinek was therefore the originator of the Mercedes car brand's name. In 1903, Emil changed his surname to Jellinek-Mercedes. The Mercedes-Benz car brand was created in 1926 through the merger of DMG with Benz. Carl Friedrich Benz (1844-1929), born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant, was a German engineer, inventor, and the first builder of petrol-powered automobiles.

The Spanish city of Barcelona has “Our Lady of Mercy” as its patron saint. In 1637, Mary relieved the city of a locust plague.

The feast day of Our Lady of Ransom is on 24 September and was instituted to invoke Mary's help in the risks of ransoming slaves and to thank Her for successfully liberating people.