Venerable Antonia María de Oviedo y Schönthal

Antonia Maria de Oviedo Schöntal (16 March 1822 – 28 February 1898) was a Swiss-Spanish religious sister in the Roman Catholic Church and the co-founder of the Oblate Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer, a congregation that she established with the Benedictine Bishop José María Serra. She assumed the religious name Antonia María of Mercy and worked alongside poor and disadvantaged women. She was declared venerable on 7 July 1962 after Pope John XXIII approved the fact that she lived a life of heroic virtue. A miracle attributed to her intercession requires papal approval after having received approval from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2005. Antonia Maria de Oviedo Schöntal was born on 16 March 1822 in Lausanne to the Spanish Antonio de Oviedo and the Swiss Susanna Schöntal. Antonio de Oviedo, native of Sevilla, Spain and Susana Schönthal from Lausanne, Switzerland got married on July 20, 1819. The birth of Antonia María filled with joy the home of the young couple. Few days after, she was baptized at the St. Stephen Catholic Chapel and received the names of Antonia María Victoria Juana. At the age of 13 she made her First Communion in the Church of the Assumption in Lausanne. It was a bittersweet day due to her parents absence. Don Antonio already left for England at that time to ensure the sustenance of the family. After a long illness and accompanied by his wife, Don Antonio died in England on June 21, 1935. The influence of Susana was crucial in Antonia's education and religious experience. Susana was a woman of exquisite sensitivity, great culture, and deep faith. Antonia received in her childhood and youth a solid preparation in history, culture and geography of her small and beloved country, Switzerland. This will leave a deep mark in her traits and personality. Antonia grew under the loving and attentive gaze of her mother.