Saint Maria Caridad Brader Biography
Saint Maria Caridad Brader Biography, Feast Day, Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Profession, Place of Work, Date of Death, Place of Death, Beatification Date, Canonization Date |
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| Date of Birth | 14 August 1860 |
|---|---|
| Country of Birth | Switzerland in Europe |
| Matrimony/Holy Orders | Saints who were Nuns/Sisters |
| Profession | Missionary |
| Place of Work | Switzerland, Colombia |
| Date of Death | 27 February 1943 |
| Place of Death | Pasto, Colombia |
| Feast Day | February 27 |
| Beatification | Beatified by Pope John Paul II on 23 March 2003 |
| Canonization | Canonized by N/A |
| Patron Saint of | N/A |
Saint Maria Caridad Brader Biography
Blessed Maria Caridad Brader was the only child of Joseph Sebastian Brader and Maria Anna Carolina Zahner. She was raised in a pious family and known as a highly intelligent child receiving the best education her parents could provide. There were high expectations for the girl’s future but instead of continued study, she felt a call to the religious life. Mary Josephine joined the Franciscan convent at Maria Hilf, Alstatten 1 October 1880, bearing the name Mary Charity of the Love of the Holy Spirit and making her final vows on 22 August 1882.
She was initially assigned as a teacher. When it became possible for cloistered nuns to work as missionaries, Sister Caritas volunteered to be among the first six sisters to work in Chone, Ecuador in 1888. She worked for five years as a teacher and children‘s catechist. In 1893, she was transferred to Tùquerres, Colombia where conditions were rough but taught the faith to the poor and outcast.
To prepare additional missionaries, on 31 March 1893, she founded the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate in Tuquerres, Colombia. Initially composes of young Swiss girls with a call to missionary work and were soon joined by Colombian and other local women. Caritas served as Superior General for the Congregation from 1893 to 1919, and again from 1928 to 1940. The Sisters emphasized good education for themselves and their charges, and deep prayer lives for everyone. They received papal approval in 1933, and today work in Central and South America, Mexico, Switzerland, Mali, Romania and the United States.
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