Maria Pierina

Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli

Portrait of Blessed Maria Pierina
Mystic
Born 11 September 1890
Milan, Italy
Died 26 July 1945
Centonara, Italy
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified May 30, 2010, Rome by Archbishop Angelo Amato
Patronage Devotees of the Holy Face of Christ

Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli (1890–1945) was a Roman Catholic religious Sister who was born near Milan in Italy. She is best known for her association with the Holy Face of Jesus (one of the Catholic devotions) and for introducing a medal bearing an image from the Shroud of Turin as part of this devotion.

In April 2009 Pope Benedict XVI advanced her beatification process by formally recognizing a miracle attributed to her.[1] She was beatified on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Roman Curia. Although he was not present for the beatification Mass, Pope Benedict XVI noted her "extraordinary devotion" to the Holy Face of Christ at the Angelus audience the following Sunday.[2][3]

Early years

She was born Giuseppina De Micheli in Milan on 11 September 1890.[4] She took the name Sister Maria Pierina on 16 May 1914, when she took vows as a member of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From 1919 to 1921 she was sent to the motherhouse of her religious congregation in Argentina. While there, her attachment to the Holy Face devotion grew stronger. After her return to Milan she was eventually elected as the mother superior of her house and began to spread the devotion.

She had been aware of the Holy Face of Jesus devotion since an early age. Sister Pierina did not initiate the Holy Face of Jesus devotion, for it had already been started almost a century earlier by a French Carmelite nun, Sister Marie of St Peter, of Tours, France. Both women claimed visions of Jesus and Mary as part of their motivation for following the devotion.

Visions

Tomb of Blessed Maria Pierina.

On the first Friday in Lent 1936 she reported a vision of Christ in which Jesus appeared to her and said: “I will that My Face, which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, the suffering and the love of My Heart, be more honored. He who meditates upon Me, consoles Me”. Further reported visions of Jesus and Mary urged Sister Maria Pierina to make a medal with the Holy Face of Jesus.[4] After some effort, she managed to obtain permission to reproduce the photograph of the Shroud of Turin and authorization from the Curia in Milan to proceed with the medal in 1940. This became known as the Holy Face Medal.

On one side the medal bears a replica of the Holy Shroud of Turin and an inscription based on Psalm 66:2: "Illumina, Domine, vultum tuum super nos", i.e. "May, O Lord, the light of Thy countenance shine upon us". On the other side of the medal, there is an image of a radiant Sacred Host, the monogram of the Holy Name ("IHS"), and the inscription "Mane nobiscum, Domine" i.e. "Stay with us, O Lord".

Approval of the Holy Face medal

The first medal of the Holy Face was offered to Pope Pius XII who approved the devotion and the medal. She had also reported that Jesus wanted a special Feast on the day before Ash Wednesday in honor of His Holy Face, to be preceded by a Novena (9 days) of prayers. In 1958, Pope Pius XII declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) for all Roman Catholics.

Final years

In 1941 she wrote in her diary: "I feel a deep longing to live always united to Jesus, to love Him intensely because my death can only be a transport of love with my Spouse, Jesus." Sister Maria Pierina died on June 26, 1945 in Milan.[4] Her remains are located at the Holy Spirit Institute in Rome.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pope approves heroic virtues for ten on path to canonization, including the Brazilian ‘Mother Teresa’ Catholic News Agency. April 3, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Holy Face nun beatified, remembered by Pope Benedict XVI". Catholic News Agency. May 30, 2010.
  3. ↑ Vatican website: Pope Benedict XVI Angelus, 30 May 2010
  4. 1 2 3 "Beata Maria Pierina", Santi e Beati, May 19, 2009

Sources

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