During the 19th century, for some mysterious reason a profusion of mystical phenomena cropped up in the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. In particular, they were associated with several women-stigmatics providentially living at the same time in the area, amongst whom was this month's featured holy person - the Servant of God, Maria von Morl (or Moerl). This is her amazing story.
Maria was born in the picturesque hamlet of Caldaro (then called Kaltern) on October 16, 1812. She was the second child (of eleven) to grace a moderately wealthy family descended from a line of Tyrolean aristocracy. She was an attractive girl but delicate in health. When her mother died after giving birth to her last child, Maria who was then 15-year-old, assisted her father, Joseph, in caring for her younger siblings and doing the housework.
Joseph, on his part, was a poor father to his family. He was as an outdoorsman and alcoholic who sometimes physically abused his children. In particular, Maria was the frequent target of his violent outbursts whenever he returned home drunk after a night at the tavern. Thus, the poor child was accustomed early on to suffering, which she would patiently endure in one form or another until the end of her life.
A fabric relic from Maria's clothing
in this ministry's custody
Biographers of Maria are consistent in describing her as a pious girl, imbued with a childlike innocence that she retained all her life. Despite the cruelty she endured at the hands of her father, she loved him; never complaining about his bad behavior. Instead, she was kind, obedient, prayerful, and self-sacrificing; placing herself under the mentorship of a confessor - Fr. Johannes Kapistran Soyer - beginning at age 17. Thus, Fr. Johannes became privy to the secrets of Maria's soul and wisely monitored her spiritual exercises, which included the use of a flagrum (a penitential scourging instrument). Thanks to this priest and the documentation he kept we know many key details about this Servant of God's life.
As stated earlier, Maria was sickly from her early childhood and, perhaps due to the extreme stress of her day-to-day existence... or maybe due to the intensity of her penitential practices... or more likely a combination of both, her health collapsed to the point of her becoming almost completely bedridden. It was then her mundane life took a remarkable turn.
On the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1832, Maria was suddenly raised in ecstatic levitation above her bed, as the procession with the Blessed Sacrament approached the narrow street in front of the Morl home. Being that her open bedroom window faced the street, her body suspended in midair, in the form of a cross, was seen by everyone in the street and caused a sensation. The event quickly thrust the young mystic into the limelight, making her a local celebrity.
Following that initial ecstasy, Maria started experiencing daily ecstatic raptures with her posture always being the same - she knelt silent and motionless near the foot of the bed; her hands often joined in prayer; her torso leaning forward (without her ever falling); her head and gaze looking upwards; and her countenance lovely and serene, as she was enamored by heavenly visions that only she could see.
Remarkably, the ecstatic maintained her immobile position for hours at a time without any sign of fatigue or discomfort, and while insensible to external stimuli. Only Fr. Johannes could wake her from this trance-like state simply by commanding her through holy obedience, usually when he brought her Holy Communion and/or when he needed to speak with her. Maria would immediately "return" to herself and lay back on the bed without any fanfare... only to slide back into ecstasy and rise to her usual upright position once her communications with the priest concluded.
Two prints of Maria, depicting her in
her usual state of ecstatic contemplation
Not surprisingly, news of the miracle maiden's ecstasies attracted crowds to the Morl home; devout pilgrims and curiosity-seekers, alike, who wanted to gaze on the "Ecstatica of Caldaro", as she came to be known. At the peak of her fame and, when access to her room was unrestricted, over 40,000 visitors were counted in a single year. Among them were prelates from all over Europe and members of the Italian and Austrian royal families. The famous German poet and writer, Clemens Brentano, who was the confidante of another mystic, Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich (d. 1824), was among Maria's visitors and admirers.
On February 4, 1834, Maria's life took another dramatic turn. That morning Fr. Johannes came upon her in an agitated and confused state, wiping her hands vigorously with cloth. When asked what she was doing, the mystic replied that she had somehow cut herself without knowing exactly how. The priest then ordered her to show him her hands, upon which he discovered bleeding wounds on both the backs of them and in the palms. Open lesions were also present on her feet. It was obvious to him that Maria had been stigmatized although the maiden, in her naivete, had no clue as to the tremendous significance of what was occuring to her; that she was carrying the actual wounds of Christ on her limbs. Later, another wound opened on her chest, which was attested to by the women in her family who cared for her.
In addition to the reparational suffering of the stigmata that Maria regularly underwent (they bled weekly between Thursday evening and Friday), another trial was added to her - diabolic harassment. These episodes of attack were sometimes so severe, they verged on total possession with the demons causing her to vomit foreign objects such as hair and needles, or they would throw her off the bed (once nearly out the window!). Her confessor resorted to exorcism to assist her when the spiritual battles between Maria and the dark forces were especially violent. The mystic, on her part, maintained an otherworldly peace and patience, as she offered all her sufferings on behalf of sinners. The ecstasies and consoling visions that were still ongoing provided her with much-needed relief in between these painful trials.
Other charisms Maria received from God were prophecy and discernment, which she used with discretion in service of pilgrims and prelates who sought her counsel.
Bishop Francis Xavier Luschin, who had jurisdiction over Caldaro, had a special investigation conducted on his unique parishioner to ascertain the truth of her experiences. The result was favorable, but the bishop wisely concluded that it would be in Maria's best interest to limit access to her to keep her humble and unaffected. Henceforth, the number of pilgrims coming to Caldaro were significantly decreased since special permission was now required to see her.
An actual photo of Maria von Morl in death (note the smile on her face)
When her father died in 1841, Maria, who was already a Third Order Franciscan, applied for admission with a local community of Teritiary Franciscans. The group welcomed her amongst them and, to her joy, she lived in relative obscurity - unbothered by most pilgrims - until her blessed death on January 11, 1868. She was 56-years-old at her passing and her last recorded words were: "Oh, how beautiful!" Hundreds again descended on Caldaro to attend her funeral.
Apparently, the ecstasies and the weekly stigmatic bleedings had continued inside the convent walls. Maria prayed many times that her visible wounds would disappear (not the pain) but they only started to do so three days prior to her death. No trace of the stigmatic lesions were observed on her limbs as she lay in state in her coffin.
Maria von Morl, the Ecstatica of Caldaro, is today a Servant of God in the Church. Her memory is still very much alive in South Tyrol and her Cause for Canonization has been opened. Her supporters are eagerly awaiting the identification and verification of two miracles required by the Church for her to be declared a Saint. Let us pray for the speedy and successful conclusion of Maria's Cause.
Maria von Morl, pray for us!
