Blessed Laura Vicuna was born in Chile in 1891. Her father, Jose, was an army officer and a noble family member, while her mother, Mercedes, was from a humble farming family. Jose’s family disapproved of him marrying someone from a lower class and disowned him.
The situation became worse when a civil war broke out in Chile soon after Laura’s birth. The family had to flee to a remote village 500 kilometers away. Laura’s sister was born about 18 months later, and Jose died soon after of pneumonia.
Mercedes tried to make things work on her own. She started a business, but soon, thieves broke in and destroyed it. Knowing she could not safely stay in the village, she and her daughters joined a caravan heading to Argentina.
In Argentina, Mercedes met a man named Manuel Mora. He was a rich rancher who had a criminal background, a habit of taking and mistreating mistresses, and a tendency to mistreat his workers. He proposed to Mercedes: If she became his mistress, he would protect her and the girls, and pay for the girls’ schooling. Mercedes agreed.
Unfortunately, Manuel developed an attraction for Laura. To protect Laura, Mercedes sent the girls to their boarding school, which the Salesian Sisters ran, early.
The school was fantastic for Laura’s spiritual development. She quickly grew in holiness and began wanting to become a sister. On the day of her First Communion, she made a vow to love God with her whole heart, to engage in regular mortification, and to die rather than commit sin.
At school, as she learned more about the faith, Laura grew to discover that her mother was living in grave sin. She was so distressed that she fainted. She kept her distress to herself but began to pray constantly for her mother’s conversion.
Meanwhile, the situation with Manuel grew worse. He had his sights set on marrying Laura, which was why he had paid for her school. But Laura avoided his advances. She once spent the night in the forest to avoid him. Another time, when she refused to dance with him at a party, Manuel severely whipped her. Eventually, out of anger, he stopped paying for Laura’s tuition. Knowing what was going on, the sisters at the school offered Laura a scholarship and allowed her to stay at school over breaks, which continued for two years.
Laura was still very distressed over her mother’s situation. With the permission of a priest, she decided to offer herself as a victim soul for her mother’s conversion.
Laura already had weak health, and her condition worsened during a dark and rainy winter in 1903. Mercedes brought Laura back to the ranch to nurse her back to health, which put her back in Manuel’s sights and beatings, further worsening her condition.
Mercedes was determined to protect Laura, so she rented a small house in the village. During this time, Laura went to the local church as often as possible and had many talks with her mother about her concerns over her living situation.
One night, Manuel came to the house full of rage. He and Mercedes argued, and to try to break up the tension, Laura said she would return to school. Manuel beat Laura again, escalating her health problems. She died not long after at the young age of 13.
The story does not end there. On the day of Laura’s funeral, Mercedes returned to the sacraments, and before Laura died, she resolved to leave Manuel.
Manuel came to Laura’s funeral to get Mercedes to return with him, but the priest stepped in and relayed the message that she was not coming back. Manuel continued to threaten Mercedes’ life, but the people of the village protected her.
Eventually, knowing that Manuel would not rest until she was dead, Mercedes escaped the town. She wore a disguise, and the village people conspired to send Manuel in the opposite direction. She was finally away from Manuel and back with the Church, as her daughter had often prayed for.
Lessons From Blessed Laura Vicuna
Blessed Laura Vicuna was in a horrible situation. She had lost her father and lived in fear. She did her best to control the situation and get herself and her mother to safety, but ultimately, there was not much she could control. But one thing she could control was uniting her sufferings to the cross, and it bore much fruit, inspiring her mother to leave a sinful and dangerous situation.
Prayer and community were Laura’s source of strength. She developed a robust prayer life under the guidance of the sisters, who also did as much as was in their power to protect Laura. This prayer and community gave her the strength to unite her sufferings to the cross, which ultimately helped to bring about her mother’s conversion.
For those of us who have faced severe trauma, we can imitate Laura by striving to find healing and safety. As we pursue these things, we should strive to surround ourselves with prayer and community and allow these things to strengthen us so we can unite our sufferings to the cross of Jesus, allowing them to bear fruit for ourselves and others, just as the cross of Jesus did.
Visit this page to learn more about other saints who faced traumatic experiences.