Blessed Laura Vicuña

Laura del Carmen Vicuña Pino (5 April 1891 – 22 January 1904) was a Chilean child who was noted for her religious devotion. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988 as the patron of abuse victims, having herself experienced physical abuse. Laura del Carmen Vicuña was born on April 5, 1891, in Santiago, Chile, to José Domingo Vicuña and Mercedes Pino. The Vicuña family were Chilean aristocrats, the father in military service and the mother working at home. Forced out of Santiago by the revolution, the family took refuge in Temuco, but soon after José Domingo died suddenly and Mercedes went to live, with her two daughters, in Argentina. Mercedes and her daughters moved to the Argentine province of Neuquén. In search of a way to finance her daughters' education, Mercedes took a job in the Quilquihué Hostel. The owner of the hostel, Manuel Mora, propositioned Mercedes, promising to pay for Laura's education in exchange. Laura soon entered the Hijas de Maria Auxiliadora (“Daughters of Mary Help of Christians”) School, where, under the care of the nuns, she began to take a deep interest in the Catholic faith. Because of her deep religious interest, she was not well liked by her classmates. She spent most of her time praying before The Blessed Sacrament in the school's chapel. She prayed every day for her mother's salvation and for her to leave Manuel Mora. She had one good friend, Mercedes Vera, to whom she confided her desire to become a nun. During one of her school vacations, Laura was beaten twice by Manuel Mora, who wanted her to forget about becoming a nun. She held to this desire even when Mora stopped paying for her education, and when the nuns at her school learned of the conflict, they gave Laura and her sister scholarships. Although she was grateful to her teachers, she still worried about her mother's situation.