Saint of the Month - December 2018: Blessed Maria [Fontanella] of the Angels

Bl. Maria [Fontanella]

of the Angels

Fragrant Rose of Turin

Memorial: December 16th

This month's featured holy woman once admitted she wasn't born saintly.  Rather, as a little girl, she had a tendency to love all sorts of finery and enjoyed the fact that she excelled at dancing. In short - she was worldly and had a streak of vanity.  Not sure how much of that is true or how much has to do with her exceptonal humility, but it's what she reportedly recorded in an autobiography.  It wasn't until Christ, himself, directly intervened that she began to ascend the steep, difficult path up the mountain of holiness... to become the great mystic and "prayer warrior" our Lord wanted her to be.

An old portrait of Bl. Maria of the Angels,
a Carmelite mystic and stigmatic.

Marianna Fontanella came into the world on January 7, 1661. She was the youngest of 11 children born to Count Giovanni of Turin and his wife, Lady Maria Tana.  The mother had among her ancestors, the mother of St. Aloysius Gonzaga (d. 1591), a youthful aristocrat who renounced a life of privilege to become a holy Jesuit.  The fact that there was an official Saint counted among her kin was undoubtedly a source of pride for the family, but it wasn't enough to impress Marianna to want to become one too.  In several bios I've read of her, it was related that this Blessed initially lived her early years in a manner typical of her high social status - she was well-educated; pampered; and exposed to all sorts of social events... and she enjoyed it all, especially the fancy outfits and the dances.

However, on one particular day, while still a young child, she sat in front of a mirror admiring herself when her own reflection vanished to be replaced by a vision - Christ appeared in the mirror, sadly staring back at her; battered and crowned with thorns.  The experience so shocked Marianna that it had the immediate effect of a lasting conversion.  From that moment on she shunned her elaborate wardrobe and jewelry, and began exercising a devout mode of living despite her tender age.

At 12-years-old, Marianna accompanied one of her sisters to the Cistercian Monastery in Saluzzo where the latter was entering into religious life.  Somehow, Marianna was able to persuade her parents to allow her to board with the nuns, and she remained with them for over a year until her mother recalled her home due to the unexpected death of her father.  Back at the family villa our Beata resisted her family's efforts to marry her off and she practiced a regimen of prayer and self-mortification.  Apparently, while with the Cistercians, an earlier resolve she made to become a nun had strengthened, but she was undecided as to which order to join.

After providentially meeting and speaking with a venerable Carmelite priest during one of the rare public exhibitions of the Holy Shroud of Turin, Marianna applied with the local Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Santa Cristina.  Lady Maria reluctantly consented when it became clear that her daughter could not be dissuaded so Marianna made her entrance into Carmel in November 1675; she was 14-years-old and took the name Maria of the Angels.

The first year in the monastery was not easy for the aspiring nun.  The sweetness of spirit and the divine favors she had started to enjoy before quitting the world evaporated, leaving Sr. Maria with a terrible dryness in her soul.  She clung desperately to her faith and, guided by a meticulous novice mistress, she managed to reach profession in December 1676... but the sense of separation from God - the "dark night of the soul" - continued to torment her for the next 15 years.  The devil aggravated the situation, via severe temptations and diabolic assaults.

The beautiful Basilica of the Superga

in Turin, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin,

and constructed under the prompting

of Bl. Maria of the Angels.

Fortunately, the beleagured nun weathered her personal storm through the consistent practice of virtue, especially humility and obedience towards her superiors.  As it turned out, all that she went through served to purify her spirit, as Jesus was leading her on a singular path of extraordinary mystical union with himself, as was proven later on.

By 1691 Sr. Maria was finally free of the darkness and began experiencing supernatural lights with greater intensity.  Sublime visions of Christ and heavenly inhabitants resumed, along with other mystical gifts such as Prophecy, the Stigmata, and the Fragrance of Sanctity.  It was reported that the beautiful scent that constantly surrounded her was so obvious the other nuns could track her whereabouts by following the aroma she left in her wake.  The Blessed, on her part, took to carrying small bundles of flowers and spices to try to disguise the heavenly scent but to no avail - it increased on feast days and during times when she was ill and unable to take precautions to disguise the fragrance.  Even things she handled were imbued with the delightful scent!

Noting her many virtues and fine example of Carmelite spirituality, the community elected Sr. Maria to the post of novice mistress in 1691 then prioress in 1694, a position she maintained through multiple terms.  Word soon spread outside of the monastery about the extraordinary prioress and people began seeking her counsel and prayers, including the reigning king of the region, Vittorio Amadeo II of the royal house of Savoy, and other members of the nobility.  Vocations to the Carmel of St. Cristina increased, which necessitated the founding of another monastery in nearby Moncalieri in 1703.  Sr. Maria had hoped to transfer there to be away from the center of the limelight but the king explicitly forbade her to ever leave Turin due to his dependence on her advice and his devotion to her.

A depiction of Bl. Maria of the Angels

interceding with Christ to spare Turin from

a chastisement of the dreaded plague.

Public esteem for the prioress reached a pinnacle in 1696 when the city was besieged by an invading army.  She publicly announced that the city would be saved if people turned to St. Joseph - the foster father of Jesus - for help, which they did.  Turin was liberated and, in gratitude, St. Joseph was proclaimed the Patron Saint of the city by the king.  Similarly, in 1706 when the French besieged the city, the citizens and royals turned to the intercession of their resident mystic - the nun invoked the Holy Virgin's protection and the city's army was again victorious.  At Sr. Mary's urging, a church - the great Basilica of the "Superga" - was built to commemorate the victory and to honor Our Lady.

Sr. Maria of the Angels died peacefully in her monastery on December 16, 1717, after living a productive life of prayer, self-sacrifice, and service to her beloved people.  She was 56-years-old at the time of her death and all of Turin mourned the passing of she who had saved them from wars and even a plague in 1714.  

At the instigation of King Vittorio, the holy nun's Cause for Canonization was started just a few years after the death of Sr. Maria.  Pope Pius IX declared her a Blessed on April 25, 1865, but a second miracle has yet to be officially recognized for the prioress to reach sainthood.  Let us pray for her speedy canonization.

The urn-shrine of Bl. Maria of the Angels

in the Carmel of Moncalieri (Turin).  Inside

is a simulated wax figure of the Beata,

along with her earthly remains.

Words of Wisdom from Bl. Maria of the Angels:

"When you commit some infidelity,

do not be anxious, but with humility and

confidence immediately turn to the Lord:

do not flee from the Offended, but embrace

Him as a lover and ask for forgiveness."