Saint of the Month - September 2020: Blessed Maria Maddalena of the Passion

Bl. Maria Maddalena

of the Passion

A Woman of Prayer & Action

Memorial: September 5th

September's Saint of the Month was born Costanza Starace on September 5, 1845, in the seaside commune of Castellammare di Stabia in Naples, Italy.  She was the eldest of six children born to an affluent family in the region.  Apparently, deeply pious from a young age, she entered a certain monastery at just 12-years-old but was discharged two years later due to chronic illness.  Her health remained so poor it prevented her from ever resuming a cloistered religious vocation.

Undeterred by the setback, Costanza continued to live a life consecrated to God as a “home nun”, which was somewhat common during that time in Italy among highly devout laywomen.  She pronounced private vows of perpetual chastity and from her family home she prayed, sacrificed, and performed works of charity amongst her neighbors.

Another photo of Bl. Maria Maddalena

of the Passion, Foundress

Costanza eventually affiliated herself with the Servants of Mary (the “Servites”) in 1865 by becoming a tertiary and was given special permission by the local bishop - Francesco Saverio Petagna - to wear the Order’s full habit; she was professed into the tertiary order in June 1867.  As her personal holiness continued to impress others, she was elected to lead the Pious Union of the Daughters of Mary, a Servite-affiliated association dedicated to Christian education.  With the paternal support of her bishop, Costanza expanded the group’s work to include sheltering women and children in distress, caring for orphans, and ministering to the infirm.

By 1871, Constanza’s initiatives with the pious union were so successful, Bishop Petagna, appointed her as the superior of a congregation she was inspired to establish - the Compassionist Sisters Servants of Mary.  With the birth of this new ministry, Costanza became Mother Maria Maddalena of the Passion.  Despite continuing health issues, the untiring foundress skillfully guided her spiritual daughters, via her wise counsel and active faith example.  Working together, their apostolate soon spread beyond Castellammare di Stabia into neighboring regions in southern Italy.

The tomb-Shrine of Bl. Maria Maddalena

in the chapel of her congregation

Already considered a saint by the general public during her lifetime, it was not widely known that Mo. Maria Maddalena was also the recipient of extraordinary signal graces.  The foundress was, in fact, a genuine mystic-soul who experienced ecstasies and bore on her body the wounds of the Sacred Stigmata, which periodically opened and bled on the Fridays of Lent.  On several occasions, she was also the target of diabolic physical attacks in apparent retaliation for her sanctity and resulting good works.  In her humility, Mo. Maria Maddalena attempted to hide the unusual phenomena that surrounded her but to no avail, especially when it came to the stigmatic sufferings; her closest associates testified to the truth of her mystical gifts.

After an illustrious life spent in heroic faith and generosity, this Italian foundress entered into her eternal reward on December 13th, 1921 in her home town.  The Church officially recognized her exceptional holiness during a beatification ceremony held in the co-Cathedral of Castellammare di Stabia on April 15, 2003.  May the Lord see fit to grant the Faithful her speedy Canonization – Bl. Maria Maddalena of the Passion, pray for us!

"When you cannot speak to man

of God, speak to God of man."

~ Words of Bl. Maria Maddalena