Born to a wealthy family, Mary Brenner was raised with the mentality to always help the needy people. However like most young people, her life was turned upside down when she got married at the age of 18, having three children within a few years. This ended in divorce, and another civil marriage produced 5 more children and another divorce. Her life changed once again for the better when she started to volunteer and help in charitable causes. Meeting a helpful priest in1965, he encouraged her to go along with him to Tijuana, Mexico where she helped in distributing clothes, food and medicine to the inmates in La Mesa prison. She became well known among the prisoners and the authorities even gave her a room where she could stay overnight. With the local bishop's permission, she even founded an Order of nuns, women 45 years and over, with the aim of helping the inmates. She then became known as Mother Antonia Brenner, and ended up spending 32 years on this mission. She worked with murderers, robbers, drug-traffickers and men with other terrible backgrounds, but she calmly talks to them, comforts them and compassionately listens to their needs. She has became known as the Angel of La Mesa Prison. After years of weakening health, she died Oct. 17, 2013 at the Tijuana headquarters of the religious order she founded. She was 86.
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