Mother Serafina Lemery, founder and first superior of the Monastery of the Visitation of Santa María de Burgos
Our community of Burgos was founded in 1892, responding to a request from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which gradually manifested itself to Sister. María Serafina Lemery, professed nun of the First Monastery of Madrid.
Upon the arrival in Burgos of the Mother and first Founding Sisters, they found a cold climate, but a warm welcome. First, they stayed in rooms offered by the Daughters of Charity, who were in charge of the Saldaña School. There they were treated with immense charity, but they had to look for another house where they could settle and they found it at 80 Fernán González Street. After doing some adaptation work, they moved there, with the narrowness and poverty that usually occurs in all beginnings. Vocations were arriving and the house was too small to continue receiving more aspirants, so they had to think about acquiring land on which to build a monastery.
Naturally, it was not without difficulties and financial difficulties, but, finally, on October 24, 1897 they were able to move to the new building, where the current community continues today, on Barrantes Street, 4.
When the Sisters arrived, the church was missing and little by little it was built, with periods in which the work had to be suspended due to lack of resources, but in the end, it was completed, with the beauty and majesty that is seen today, being dedicated , as was natural, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
We want to include here an anecdote, which occurred when the need to build the monastery was thought about:
They told M. María Serafina about a very appropriate land for what they wanted. She also liked it, but they did not have the necessary sum to purchase it, so she asked that medals of the Sacred Heart and Saint Joseph be placed on top of the wall of said land, thus entrusting her need to Heaven. At the same time, they undertook a prayer campaign to Saint Joseph urging his intercession.
One day the Director of the Marist Brothers left home ready to close the contract for the acquisition of the same land; Upon reaching the wall, he was stopped by a gentleman completely unknown to him, who directly asked him where he was going. The good religious felt upset by such a question, but, condescendingly, he communicated his intention to him, to which the stranger replied that he should desist from his attempt, since the Superior of the Visitation wanted to build her monastery there. . They said goodbye and the Marist Brother went to the house where the sisters lived and asked to speak with the Superior, whom he asked if it was true that he planned to build her monastery on said land. M. María Serafina was greatly surprised, because how could that religious man know her intention? Once she had recovered from the shock, she told him yes, that was her intention and, without further ado, the Marist Brother gave up his intention.
The Mother judging that Heaven was on her side, she was encouraged and that same afternoon she wrote to the owner of the property, who lowered the price of the property by half and facilitated payment as soon as the nuns were able.
Vocations continued to arrive, giving continuity in the city of Burgos to the spirit of Saint Francis de Sales, until today.
Mother María Serafina Lemery died on March 26, 1915, leaving a recognized example of holiness, not only among her daughters, but also for those in the city who had the opportunity to know her.
It is known that the Order received from Jesus, through Saint Margaret Mary of Alacoque, the mission of adoring and making known his Heart, that is, the Love that he has for men and his desire for that Love to be welcomed. for them.
In our community, continuing along this same line, we have been carrying out the APOSTOLATE OF DIVINE MERCY since 1989, through the dissemination of printed matter, celebration of worship in our church, etc.
The Heart of Jesus was shown surrounded by light and fire; He had a huge thorn stuck in the top of said Heart. The Lord himself revealed its meaning to him: the lack of charity of consecrated souls.
In reparation for how such faults offend him, Jesus asks him to establish a convent of the Visitation, where the spirit of fraternal charity and simplicity reigns, similar to what was lived among the first Christians;
Mother María Serafina has left us profound writings about the Heart of Jesus and the foundation of Burgos,
As we read them we see with admiration how some of the prophecies she describes are being fulfilled.
Since 1989, as we said above, our community of Burgos has carried out the apostolate of Divine Mercy. From many parts of Spain and other nations they ask us for material to spread this beautiful message of Mercy. Mother María Serafina writes in several parts of her notebooks: “And this Monastery will be the center from which Divine Mercy will be distributed to the world.” Great was our surprise when we read these lines. We were doing the apostolate without knowing that our Mother Foundress had predicted it. Blessed be God who does great works with such small instruments , to Him alone the Glory!
In 1910 the sisters from Burgos founded the monastery of Salamanca, with the help of the superior and some sisters from Pamplona.
Source with photo of Mother Lemery Mother Maria Serafina Lemery :: Monasteries Visitation of St. Mary (monasteriovisitacionburgos.es)
Some of Mother Lemery’s thoughts
From many other teachings we take these at random: “A humble soul is like a vessel that is filled with the sweet waters of grace.” «Be humble in thoughts, desires, words; At first the work will be dry, then the dew of grace will make it fruitful.
«Try to be souls of interior life; “Love prayer very much, cry out for the spirit of prayer.”
“The main goal of a religious woman must be to always have her gaze fixed on God, and on Him to see what may happen in life coming.”
“Jesus is all love and mercy and from our own faults he wants us to draw means of perfection.”
“Seeing everything in God, one lives in peace.”
«The gaze fixed on the will of God will lead them to the most perfect; having only one soul and one heart in Jesus, unifying his own will with that of Him.
“There can be no humility without the practice of humiliation.”
«You must have a spirit of faith in monastic observance; see God in every Rule.
“Know how to put duty before tastes and whims.”
“To achieve one’s own maturity, one must have a habit of mortification.”
Source from the book here: Ara de Holocausto :: Monasterios Visitación de Santa María (monasteriovisitacionburgos.es)