| Saint Paulina | |
|---|---|
Statue of Saint Paulina of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, in Nova Trento - SC, Brazil. |
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| Abbess | |
| Born | December 16, 1865 Vigolo Vattaro, Italy |
| Died | July 9, 1942 (aged 76) Ipiranga, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | October 18, 1991, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | May 19, 2002, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II |
| Feast | July 9 |
| Patronage | Diabetics (unofficial) |
Saint Paulina, born Amabile Lucia Visintainer (December 16, 1865 — July 9, 1942), was a Brazilian nun of Italian origin which became the first Brazilian citizen to be canonized when proclaimed a saint on May 19, 2002, by Pope John Paul II. Saint Paulina suffered from diabetes for much of her life and is considered by some to be the Patroness of diabetics.
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Amabile Lucia Visintainer was born on December 16, 1865 to Antonio Napoleone Visintainer and Anna Pianezzer[1] in the town of Vigolo Vattaro, in Trentino, Italy.[2] Like many others in the area, her parents were very poor practicing Catholics.[2] In September 1875 her family, along with a hundred people, about a fifth of her home town,[1] emigrated to the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil, where they founded the village of Vigolo, currently Nova Trento.[1][2] After receiving her First Communion at about age 12, Amabile began to participate in parish life: teaching catechism to children, visiting the sick and cleaning the local chapel.[1][2]
On July 12, 1890 Amabile and her friend Virginia Rosa Nicolodi were taking care of a woman suffering from cancer.[1][2] From their work began the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, which was approved by José de Camargo Barros, Bishop of Curitiba.[1][2] In December of the same year, Amabile and her friends Virginia and Teresa Anna Maule took their religious vows; Amabile took the name Sister Paulina of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus.[1][2] Their congregation, Brazil's first locally founded,[3] grew quickly, and in 1903 Paulina was elected their Superior General "for life", and left Nova Trento for Ipiranga, São Paulo in order to take care of orphans, the children of slaves, and aged slaves who had been left to die because they could no longer work.[1][2]
In 1909, Mother Paulina was removed from her duties as Superior General by Duarte Leopoldo e Silva, Archbishop of São Paulo, following a series of disputes within the congregation.[1] She was sent to work with the sick at the Santa Casa and the elderly of the Hospice of Saint Vincent de Paul at Bragança Paulista,[1] without being able to assume an active role in her own congregation.[2] She spent her spare time praying in support of the congregation.[1] In 1918, with the permission of Archbishop Duarte,she was called by the Superior General Mother Vicência Teodora to the Mother House of Ipiranga, where she would remain until her death.[2] On May 19, 1933, Mother Paulina was acknowledged as the "Venerable Mother Foundress" when the "Decree of Praise" was granted by the Holy See to the Congregation of the Little Sisters.[2]
In 1938 her health began a long, slow decline as she fought a losing battle with diabetes.[1] After two operations, first her middle finger and then her right arm were amputated.[2] She spent the last months of her life totally blind.[2] On July 9, 1942 she died with the last words "God's will be done".[1][2]
Mother Paulina was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 18, 1991, during his visit to Florianópolis.[1][2] On her beatification, three relics were made from three of the fingerbones of her remaining hand.[4] One was given to Pope John Paul II, the second to the convent where Paulina lived, and the other to Albert Visintainer and his family of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania.[4] This can be seen at the St. Pauline Visintainer Center in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6:00 PM.[4]
Mother Paulina was canonized on May 19, 2002 by Pope John Paul II in a ceremony in the Vatican,[1] where she became the first Brazilian saint.[5] Hundreds of Brazilians, including then President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, attended the event in Saint Peter's Square.[6]