Verdiana

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Saint Verdiana
Born 1182, Castelfiorentino, Italy
Died February 10, 1242, Castelfiorentino, Italy
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Canonized cult approved in 1533 by Pope Clement VII
Feast February 1
Attributes snakes; depicted as a nun preaching to snakes
Saints Portal

Saint Verdiana (Veridiana, Viridiana) (1182February 10, 1242) is an Italian saint.

Born at Castelfiorentino, Tuscany, of a noble family, somewhat impoverished but still prestigious, Verdiana was noted from an early age for her generosity and sense of charity. She made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Upon returning to Castelfiorentino and feeling a desire for solitude and penance, she had herself walled up as an anchorite in a little cell contiguous to the oratory of San Antonio. She remained secluded there for 34 years under the obedience of a Vallumbrosan abbey (however, the Franciscans claim her as one of their tertiaries).

From a little window she spoke to visitors and received an insufficient amount of food. Tradition holds that two snakes penetrated her cell in the last years of her life. These increased her mortifications of the flesh, but she never revealed their existence. Another local tradition holds that upon her death, the bells of Castelfiorentino began to ring unaided by any human hand, unexpectedly and simultaneously.

Her cult was approved by Pope Clement VII in 1533. Her feast day is February 1.

The church of Santa Verdiana in Florence
The church of Santa Verdiana in Florence

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