Francisco Palau
| Bl. Francisco Palau y Quer, O.C.D. | |
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| Religious, priest and founder | |
| Born | 29 December 1811 Aitona, Lleida, Spain 
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| Died | 20 March 1872 Tarragona, Spain
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| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | April 24, 1988, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, by Pope John Paul II |
| Feast | November 7 |
Francisco Palau y Quer, O.C.D., (Catalan: Francesc Palau i Quer; 29 December 1811 - 20 March 1872) was a Catalan Discalced Carmelite friar and priest. Growing up in the chaos of the Peninsular War in Spain, he followed both the life of a hermit and of a missionary preacher in the rural regions of Catalonia. He founded the School of Virtue—which was a model of catechetical teaching for adults—in Barcelona. In 1860 he founded a mixed Congregation of Third Order of Discalced Carmelites, including both Brothers and Sisters, in the Balearic Islands. The legacy of this foundation is carried on by two religious congregations of women who serve throughout the world.
Working from his tradition of Carmelite spirituality, Palau tried to promote the need of basing the spiritual life on recognizing and returning God's love, as opposed to the rational doctrines of the theology of his day. He was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1988. One of his spiritual followers was his great-niece, Teresa of Jesus Jornet, who founded a religious congregation of Carmelite Sisters dedicated to caring for the poor aged. She is honored as a saint.
He was born on 29 December 1811 in Aitona, Lerida, the 7th of the nine children of Joseph Palau and Maria Antònia Quer, who were fervent royalists and devoted Catholics. They were a humble farming family who would gather together to pray the rosary after their day's labors. He was baptized that same day in keeping with local custom. He was born into a period of widespread hunger and chaos due to the devastation wrought by the French invasion of Spain, which had reached the region the previous year.
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