Peter Nolasco was a 13th-century friar and nobleman who founded the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy to ransom Christian captives. Born around 1180, possibly in Mas-Saintes-Puelles, he served as a tutor to King James I of Aragon after participating in military conflicts. He dedicated his life to freeing prisoners held by Moorish forces, eventually establishing a religious order with papal approval in 1235. He died in Barcelona in 1256 and was later canonized as a saint.