The Discalced Mercedarians (Latin: Ordo Frati Excalceatorum de B.M.V. de Mercede; Spanish: Orden de Descalzos de Nuestra Señora de la Merced) are members of a mendicant order, which is a reform branch which developed in the 17th century of the Mercedarian Order, founded in the 12th century primarily to assist Christians who had been taken prisoner by Muslim armies or pirates. They use the postnominal initials O.M.D.
