Saint of the Month - May 2013: Saint Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

St. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

The Passion Flower of Florence

Feast: May 25th

Born into a life of privilege on April 2, 1566, this extraordinary Italian Saint was baptized Caterina and was the only daughter in her family's branch of the aristocratic Pazzi clan of Florence.  Her biographers report that she was an attractive child with a precocious attitude, and from her earliest years she displayed an unusual attraction and sensitivity towards the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament… so much so, that she delighted in being near individuals who had recently received the Eucharist.

Shortly after Caterina made her own First Communion at the age of ten, she made a private vow of perpetual virginity and consecrated herself to the service of the Lord, whom she aspired to spiritually wed.  In an effort to master her passionate character, she also began a program of intense self-mortification - prayer, strict fasting, and self-flagellation - the likes of which would shock the average Christian... but extraordinary graces soon followed, beginning with Caterina's first ecstatic trance at the age of twelve, which was witnessed by her mother.

Not surprisingly, soon after, the young maiden informed her family that she intended to become a religious, which they attempted to dissuade her from doing but to no avail.  In December of 1582, at the tender age of fourteen, Caterina was permitted to enter the Carmelite Monastery of St. Mary of the Angels in Florence where she was given the religious name Sr. Maria Maddalena (or simply Sr. Maddalena).  She specifically chose this monastery because it had a special dispensation to receive Holy Communion, daily, which was rare in her time.

A true-to-life portrait of the
Saint in her early years.

The first ten years of Maddalena's religious life were marked with a mysterious illness that left her incapacitated, to which can be added severe temptations against purity and her vocation. On May 29, 1584, her condition was so critical, she was allowed to profess vows earlier than normal, and shortly after was miraculously healed.  Although she regained a measure of health, the temptations and physical diabolic attacks continued, and to these were added another trial: spiritual dryness.

Sr. Maddalena continued her efforts at prayer and voluntary penances, meriting almost-daily ecstasies and sublime visions of the world beyond, including visits with souls in Purgatory who begged her for prayers. During this time her body was also marked with the Sacred Stigmata, but in her humility she asked the Lord to make the wounds invisible, which he willingly granted.  Levitation was also among her special charisms, along with working other miracles (e.g. she once multiplied flour when the monastery was short of food).

The Saint's trials only served to refine her soul and to exercise the love she had for her Divine Spouse; inflaming her heart.  In fact, the love she bore for God reached such a supernatural level of intensity, it manifested as a tangible heat that burned within her - the fire of Divine Love!  At times the heat was so great she would resort to placing her hands into basins of water... or splashing water on her chest in order to cool herself.

Despite the depth of Maddalena’s mystical life, in no way did it interfere with her daily chores in the monastery. It has even been related that she sometimes carried out her assigned tasks while in a state of ecstasy. The nun was so adept in all she did and so highly regarded by her peers, she was appointed to various offices, including Mistress of Novices and finally as Superior of the monastery; her special gifts of Prophecy and Reading Hearts made her the ideal spiritual counselor to her peers and charges, as well as, to pilgrims who visited the monastery to seek her prayers and advice.

The ornate urn and the incorrupt

body of St. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi,

as venerated in Florence, Italy. 

Towards the end of her life, Sr. Maddalena’s final illness left her bedridden for almost three years and severe gum disease left her toothless and barely able to eat... but she willingly embraced her crosses for the love of God and the conversion of sinners - she died on May 25, 1607, surrounded by a mysterious floral aroma and restored in youthful beauty that filled all who saw her with admiration and awe.

Canonized on April 28, 1669, St. Maria Maddalena's body has remained miraculously incorrupt throughout the centuries. It can still be viewed in its ornate glass casket-reliquary in the chapel of the Carmelite monastery where she lived and died; a smile still adorns the Saint's features.

A Reflection
"O Love, you are neither known nor loved."  ~ Words of St. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

A Short Prayer

Lord, with the help of St. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, help us to love you and to lead others to love you.  Amen.