Pere Tarrés i Claret

Pere Tarrés i Claret (30 May 1905 – 31 August 1950) was a Catholic doctor from Barcelona, who became a priest. Claret served as a doctor during the Spanish Civil War, and administered to the poor and to those who suffered from tuberculosis; he also co-established a clinic for those who could not afford adequate medical treatment.

He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Loreto on 5 September 2004.

Life

Pere Tarrés i Claret was born in 1905 in Manresa to Francesc Tarrés Puigdellívol and Carme Claret Masats; his two sisters Francesca and Maria later became nuns. As a child he helped the local chemist and store owner Josep Balaguer who encouraged the child to continue his studies in medicine.

He moved to Barcelona in October 1921 in order to prepare for his studies in medicine; it was there that he decided to become a medical practitioner with the sole aim of helping other people.

He was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer on 17 May 1950 and so offered his suffering to God; he said that his death was a chance "to die in a continual act of love and suffering ... worthy of the Heavenly Father". He died in his clinic on 31 August 1950. His remains were re-located to the parish church of San Vicente de Sarrià on 6 November 1975.

Beatification

The beatification process received the approval of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 19 June 1980 and so granted Claret the title Servant of God, initiating the first stage of the process. The diocesan process in Barcelona was opened in 1982 and closed on 25 April 1990 after almost a decade of collating documentation and investigating Claret's life. Documentation was sent to Rome on 26 March 1993 and received validation from Roman officials, allowing the submission of the Positio in 1997 in order for further investigations to begin.

The miracle required for his beatification was investigated in its diocese of origin in a process that spanned from 2 March 1990 until 29 October 1991; all documents and testimonies were submitted to Roman officials by 2000. The C.C.S approved the cause on 5 April 2005, allowing Pope John Paul II to proclaim Claret to be Venerable on 22 June 2004. He beatified Claret in Loreto on 5 September 2004. Dr. Silvia Mónica Correale is the current postulator of the cause for canonization.

In Manresa, there is a street dedicated to him in the Barri de Sant Pau where the Medical Association and the Neighborhood Association organize an act of recognition and remembrance to him every May 30 (his liturgical day).