Saint of the Month - July 2026: Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo

Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo

A Passion Flower of the Capuchin Order

Memorial: July 27th

Noble Roots and a Contested Calling

Margherita Martinengo was born on October 5, 1687, into the illustrious Martinengo clan of Brescia, Italy.  Her father, Francesco Leopoldo Martinengo, Count of Barco, and her mother, Margherita Secchi d'Aragona, possessed immense wealth and societal influence.  Tragically, her mother died a mere five months after her birth due to complications from giving birth.  

Margherita was a highly intelligent and sensitive child who received an extensive secular and religious education thanks to her social status.  Entrusted to the Ursuline sisters at the age of six, and heavily influenced by her pious teacher, Isabella Marazzi, Margherita developed deep faith and devotion.  She kept a rosary continually in her hand and favored reading the Breviary over typical childhood pastimes.

At the age of thirteen, feeling a strong internal pull toward the Divine, Margherita made a private vow of virginity.  However, as she approached her sixteenth birthday, the pressures of her aristocratic status began to mount.  Her father actively sought to arrange a prestigious marriage for her, promising her hand to the son of a prominent Venetian senator.  Her brothers, hoping to sway her from her pious inclinations, showered her with romantic literature and worldly entertainment.  Margherita later confessed that these secular distractions temporarily seduced her, later referring to the romantic novels she received as "books from hell" for the spiritual turmoil they caused her.

Following a period of interior struggle, Margherita emerged with absolute clarity during a family vacation in the mountains surrounding Lake Iseo.  Against the fierce opposition of her father, her siblings, the household servants, and even her confessor, she announced her intention to join a local cloistered Capuchin Poor Clare monastery.  On Christmas Day, 1704, the seventeen-year-old countess presented herself at the monastery of Santa Maria della Neve in Brescia, famously declaring: "I want to become holy."

On September 8, 1705, she was clothed in the coarse Franciscan habit, taking the religious name Sr. Maria Maddalena.

Heroic Virtues and Humility

Despite her delicate appearance—described by her contemporaries as being "like wax"—Maria Maddalena exhibited astonishing fortitude.  Immersed in the grueling daily realities of a poor eighteenth-century monastery, she utterly disregarded her aristocratic background.

Among her sisters, she became affectionately known as "il facchino del monastero" (the monastery's porter).  With an absolute dedication to humility and obedience, she actively sought out the lowest, most physically demanding chores.  The former countess happily served as the community's dishwasher, kitchen hand, gardener, baker, sweeper, laundress, wool weaver, and shoemaker.  She requested no exemptions, accepted no privileges of rank, and deliberately pursued hardships to strip away any remaining worldly pride.

Her practice of the virtues was so noteworthy, she was eventually elected by the community to the position of Novice Mistress and later as Abbess.  Yet, even in roles of authority, she led entirely by example, maintaining her rigorous adherence to the Franciscan Rule and treating the sisters with immense maternal warmth.

A Hidden and Radical Asceticism

Bl. Maria Maddalena is particularly noted for the severity of her physical mortification and penances, a practice rooted in the ascetic traditions of her time.  Driven by a horror of sin and a sincere desire to share in the sufferings of Christ's Passion, she embraced extreme bodily mortifications.

She wore a cilice (spiked belt), a hairshirt, restricted her sleep, fasted intensely, and subjected her body to disciplines meant to closely unite her physical state with Christ on the cross.  Remarkably, despite these rigorous practices, she maintained a joyful, robust exterior.  Until the very end of her life, she managed to conceal the true extent of her penances and bodily infirmities from even the most observant members of her community.  She firmly believed that penance was not merely a way to overcome the weaknesses of the flesh, but a transformative fire meant to clear away self-love in the soul in order to make room for Divine Grace.

To her physical sufferings can be added moral ones.  There were four nuns in the monastery who did not believe in her holiness.  They frequently undermined her authority, but the Abbess patiently withstood their humiliations and loved them just the same as their companions.

Bl. Maria Maddalena experienced the mystical

exchange of hearts with Jesus - He took hers and replaced

it with His own Sacred Heart!

Spiritual Gifts and Mystical Encounters

Beneath the monotonous surface of her manual labor lay a rich and active mystical interior life.  By order of her confessor, Maria Maddalena reluctantly recorded her spiritual experiences in an autobiography and various journals, leaving behind a rich theological treasury.

Her spiritual gifts were charismatic and profound.  She was highly regarded for her spiritual discernment, often accurately reading the hearts of her novices and offering appropriate spiritual direction.  Furthermore, her writings reveal ecstatic raptures and deep union with God.  In fact, one of the most famous mystical phenomena attributed to her is the "exchange of hearts" with Jesus.  She recorded a vision in which she prayed: "Lord, take my heart.  I no longer want it."  Christ was apparently pleased with her offer, and she described the sensation of Jesus removing her physical heart and replacing it with His own, which she felt was "all on fire with love".  From henceforth, she felt herself physically inflamed by an all-consuming love for her Divine Spouse that burned within her (the "Incendium Amoris").

The Beata also experienced private revelations concerning the sufferings of Christ that inspired the devotion of the "Fifteen Secret Pains of Jesus" in which Christ disclosed to her the unrecorded physical and emotional tortures He endured in the dark hours preceding His crucifixion ... and, not surprisingly, beginning in 1713, she also participated in the Lord's sorrowful Passion every Friday, via the sufferings of the invisible Stigmata.  Small wounds around her head representing the crown of thorns reportedly did open and bleed, but she successfully hid them under her wimple and veil.  Through these mystical experiences, she achieved a total identification with Christ Crucified, enduring periods of immense spiritual desolation (the "dark night of the soul") alongside ecstatic consolations.

Death and Enduring Legacy

In her later years, Maria Maddalena contracted tuberculosis, bearing the painful, wasting disease with the same serene resignation she had applied to the rest of her life.  Her drastic ascetic practices and exhausting schedule also finally caught up with her, leaving her in a gravely weakened state while her soul maintained its extraordinary peace.

She died on July 27, 1737, at the age of 49; her body remained supple and flexible, resisting rigor mortis.  It was after her death, that the extent of her voluntary penances was revealed on her corpse, including the marks of the crown of thorns on her brow.  When the news of her passing spread beyond the convent walls, the people of Brescia—who had long revered the Abbess as a living Saint—gathered in mourning.  Her remains are venerated to this day in the Church of the Convent of the Capuchin Poor Clares in Brescia.

Following her death, the careful theological examination of her writings and the reporting of numerous miracles (including the miraculous healings of Isabella Groppelli Gromi and Giuseppe Tosi) propelled her cause for Sainthood.  Pope Leo XIII officially Beatified Maria Maddalena Martinengo on June 3, 1900.

The tomb of Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo as

seen in Brescia, Italy (the figure inside is wax)

Today, this Beata stands as a powerful testament to the Capuchin Franciscan ideals: a woman who walked away from the heights of worldly prestige to embrace the lowest rung of monastic service, and in doing so, achieved profound mystical union with God.

Bl. Maria Maddalena Martinengo,

pray for us!

Saint of the Month - May 2026: Venerable Maria Domenica Lazzeri

Ven. Maria Domenica Lazzeri

A Life Conformed to the Crucified

Those who frequent this blog may already recognize her name.  It's been previously mentioned in my postings about Stigmata, Bilocation, and Eucharistic Miracles—her life was that amazing!  Yet, more incredible was her heroic faith, which prompted the Church to declare her Venerable.  I'm glad I finally got around to featuring her in an exclusive blog.  This is her story:

Early Years

Maria Domenica Lazzeri—affectionately called "L' Addoloratta (the Suffering Woman) of Capriana"—was born on March 16, 1815, in the quiet village of Capriana in northern Italy.  The youngest of five children, she grew up in a humble miller’s home marked by simplicity, work, and deep faith.  Her parents, Bortolomeo and Margherita, raised her in an atmosphere where prayer and charity were as natural as breathing.

As a child, Maria Domenica, or simply "Domenica", was gentle, intelligent, and attentive to the needs of others.  She attended the village school and helped her family with daily tasks in their mill.  During the epidemics of the 1820s, she distinguished herself by serving nearby families, caring for children, and comforting the sick.  Her heart was already drawn to the suffering Christ; she devoured the writings of St. Alphonsus Liguori and meditated often on the Passion of Jesus, which became the center of her spiritual life.

Bortolomeo Lazzeri's death in 1828, when Domenica was only thirteen, pierced her deeply.  This sorrow became the doorway through which God began to lead her into a mysterious path of suffering and mystical union.

Illness & Perpetual Fasting

After her father’s death, Domenica was gathering wheat in a nearby field when a "mysterious old man"—perhaps a local saint(?) or angel—appeared and revealed spiritual things to her.  From then on her health steadily declined.  Strange, unexplained ailments afflicted her, drawing her into a life increasingly marked by interior prayer and abandonment to God’s will.

On August 15, 1833—the Feast of the Assumption—her long and painful illness began.  What seemed at first to be a simple flu became the beginning of fourteen years of total immobility.  Unlike her mother, who was also stricken but recovered quickly, Domenica never again rose from her bed.

By Easter of 1834, her condition had become extraordinary.  She no longer slept, nor did she require food or drink.  Her doctor, Leonardo Cloch, began meticulous documentation.  He observed that she lived solely on the Eucharist—receiving Holy Communion either weekly or monthly—and that this alone sustained her from age nineteen until her holy death at thirty‑three.

Her life became a living commentary on the words of Christ: “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”  Her total dependence on the Eucharist was not a medical anomaly but a profound mystical grace, a sign of God’s intimate action in her soul.

The Stigmata

In 1835, the mystery deepened.  After a reported apparition of the Blessed Virgin asking whether she desired to bear the wounds of Jesus, Domenica humbly replied, “If I am worthy, may your will be done.”

Soon after, the Stigmata appeared.  On her body, she visibly manifested these wounds:

• deep lesions in her hands and feet
• the spear wound in her side
• lash marks of the scourging
• the crown of thorns with forty distinct punctures counted on her head

Every Thursday night, the Passion unfolded in her body.  She bled profusely until Friday afternoon, when she would fall into a state resembling death.  By Saturday she revived, only to begin again the following week.

She became, in the words of her contemporaries, a living crucifix, a silent witness to the suffering love of Christ.  Hence, the nickname L' Addoloratta of Capriana.

An A.I.-generated rendering of the Venerable,

based on popular depictions of her.

Medical Studies

Her condition drew the attention of physicians, scholars, and clergy.  Dr. Cloch, a respected physician of Trento, studied her for years.  In 1837 he published his findings in the Annals of Universal Medicine, describing phenomena that defied natural explanation.  He wrote: “The blood often drips from the feet upward, contrary to all the laws of physics.  It seems that the girl is reproducing within herself the entire history of Christ’s Passion.”

Other doctors, including Dr. Antonio Faes of the University of Padua, presented reports at scientific congresses in Naples, Genoa, and Venice.  None could diagnose her illness or explain the physical manifestations.

The saintly Bishop of Trento, Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer (now a Blessed, himself), ordered an official ecclesial investigation.  What they found was a young woman whose suffering was accompanied by serenity, purity, and unwavering faith.

Other Mystical Charisms & Her Ministry

Beyond the miraculous fasting and Stigmata, Domenica was also known for other mystical gifts and experiences:

• bilocation/teleportation
• ecstasies
• "Incendium Amoris" (unusual body heat due to the "Fire of Love")
• odor of sanctity
• prophetic insights
• supernatural knowledge of distant events
• telekinesis (she opened and closed her door and windows using her mind)
• understanding of foreign languages
• visions of Christ and the Virgin Mary

Furthermore, it was noted that she never slept ... and after each reliving of the Passion, the abundance of blood that covered her and her bedding would miraculously vanish, leaving her clean.

These charisms greatly helped the invalid to profoundly touch and counsel others.  Those who visited her—peasants, priests, scholars, aristocrats—left transformed.  Her bedside became a school of holiness, where she taught not so much with words, but with the eloquence of suffering united to love.

Her charity never diminished.  Though unable to move, she prayed constantly for the sick, the poor, and the Church.  Her little room became a place where many pilgrims found consolation and spiritual strength.

Death and Legacy

On April 4, 1848—at the age of thirty‑three, the age of Christ—Maria Domenica Lazzeri surrendered her soul to God.  Her death was peaceful, luminous, and deeply mourned by all who knew her ... and many attested to a sweet floral fragrance that emanated from her corpse.

Her cause for Canonization opened in 1925, was reopened in 1995, and on March 23, 2023, the Church officially recognized her heroic virtues; she is now honored as Venerable Maria Domenica Lazzeri, a model of Eucharistic faith, redemptive suffering, and total conformity to Christ Crucified.

Domenica’s life continues to inspire, particularly those who ...

• suffer
• care for the sick
• seek deeper union with Jesus
• believe that God still works wonders in hidden souls

   

Above: Domenica's old tomb in the Capriana cemetery

and her new resting place in the local parish church

Below:  A relic from a blanket she used, gifted to this

ministry by her official Cause Promoters

Ven. Domenica stands as a quiet but powerful reminder that holiness is not measured by activity, but by love—love that is willing to be shaped by the Cross.  May God see fit to quickly raise her to the glory of the altar.

Ven. Maria Domenica, pray for us!

Saint of the Month - April 2026: Maria Concetta Pantusa

The Servant of God

Maria Concetta Pantusa

Another Apostle of the Holy Face

Her Early Years

Maria Concetta Pantusa, later known with affection as “Sister Concetta,” was born in 1884 in the small town of Celico, Calabria.  Her childhood unfolded under the shadow of a violent and domineering father who rejected the Catholic faith and forbade any religious practice within the home.  Her mother, however, was a woman of deep devotion, who with courage, quietly taught her daughter the faith and, with the help of the parish priest Don Vincenzo Letieri, managed to have her little girl secretly baptized.  This hidden act of grace became the seed of a lifelong fidelity to God that would define Maria Concetta’s entire existence.

Brazil ... Marriage ... Early Trials

From her earliest years she felt drawn to religious life, sensing within herself a call to belong entirely to God.  When she expressed her desire to enter a convent, her father reacted with force.  Rather than allow her vocation to flourish, he uprooted her from Italy and forced her to emigrate with him to Brazil.  There she lived in isolation, subjected to mistreatment and deprived of freedom.  Yet even in this harsh exile, her longing for God only deepened.  At the age of twenty, when her father chose a husband for her, she turned to the Holy Spirit in prayer, asking to understand the will of the Heavenly Father.  In response, she received a brief but luminous vision of her future.

On Christmas Day of 1914 she married Vito De Marco, an Italian emigrant.  That same day, for the first time in her life, she was able to receive the Eucharist openly—a moment she cherished as a profound gift.  The following year their daughter, Maria Carmela, was born.  Soon after, the young family returned to Italy and settled near Bari.  But tragedy struck quickly: Vito died in the First World War, leaving Maria Concetta a widow with a small child.  She returned to her parents’ home, only to face a new trial.  For an entire year she was struck by blindness and paralysis of her lower limbs.  Her sudden and complete healing, attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, restored her strength—but not her security.  Her father expelled her from the house, refusing to support her.

Maria Concetta with her daughter, Maria Carmela,

who shared her mother's piety.

The Beginnings of a Public Ministry

Alone with her daughter, she embraced a life of service.  Despite being illiterate, she was chosen by the parish priest to lead the “Daughters of Mary,” a testament to her spiritual maturity and natural authority.  She worked humbly as a cleaner for the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Redipiano, and in 1930 she traveled to Airola in Benevento to seek admission to the Poor Clares.  She was accompanied by her daughter and by Speranza Pettinato, a close friend, who would later record Maria Concetta’s mystical experiences in a journal.  The Poor Clares accepted only Maria Carmela, not her mother.  Undeterred, Maria Concetta and Speranza opened a small nursery on Via Monteoliveto with the bishop’s blessing.

Her Mystical Gifts

Fortunately, Speranza's writings reveal the extraordinary spiritual gifts that marked Maria Concetta’s life.  She experienced Prophecy, Levitations, private apparitions, and was surrounded by other miraculous signs.  For example, those around her often perceived heavenly fragrances or saw flower petals appear mysteriously.  She described visions of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin, her Guardian Angel, and Saints such as St. Joseph and St. Gemma Galgani.  She also recounted encounters and struggles with demonic forces.  In 1936 Maria Concetta received the Stigmata of Christ’s Passion during an ecstasy in which she saw Jesus in radiant light and felt piercing pain in her hands, feet, and heart.  Wounds appeared and bled, remaining visible until 1939 on her hands and feet, and until 1952 on her side.

A photo of Maria Concetta showing the wounds

of the Stigmata on her hands.

Her Devotion to the Holy Face

One of the most astonishing events of her life occurred on February 17, 1947.  In her humble room, an image of the Holy Face—a reproduction of the Shroud of Turin—began to shed blood from the head and eyes for three hours.  The phenomenon repeated on February 28 and again on March 4.  From that time forward, numerous images in her home bled, especially during the days of the Passion.  Jesus spoke to her of a mission particularly involving His Holy Face:

+ “I want My image to be widely distributed.  I want to enter every family and convert the hardest hearts.”

+ “Speak to everyone of My infinite mercy and love.”

+ “By My Holy Face the world will be saved.”

The bishop later recognized the shedding of blood from the Holy Face as an inexplicable miracle.  The people of Airola, witnessing her charity, humility, and suffering, called her “Sister Concetta,” as she dressed as a Passionist nun although she had never taken vows.  She lived in deep poverty on Via Monteoliveto for more than twenty‑three years, dedicating herself entirely to the care of the poor, the sick, and the abandoned.  Her life was marked by intense suffering, yet she radiated peace and unconditional love.

Maria Concetta with the image of the Holy Face -

a copy of the Shroud of Turin - that bled in her home.

Her Death and Legacy

Maria Concetta died at 3 p.m. on Passion Friday - March 27, 1953 - the hour of Christ’s death—a date she had foretold three years earlier.  She was first buried in the Passionist cemetery chapel, and in 1981 her remains were transferred to the Sanctuary of the Holy Face on Via Monteoliveto, the very place where she had lived and where so many miracles had occurred.  Since then, the sanctuary has become a place of pilgrimage, especially on February 17, the anniversary of the first bleeding of the Holy Face.

On February 17, 2007, her Cause for Beatification was officially opened.  In the front row sat her daughter Maria Carmela, then ninety‑one years old, moved to tears as the Church began formally recognizing the holiness of the mother who had endured so much and loved so deeply.

Please join this ministry in praying for this great mystic's speedy Canonization.

Maria Concetta Pantusa,

pray for us!

Saint of the Month - January 2026: Saint Bernardo of Corleone

St. Bernardo of Corleone

Feast: January 12th

From Swordsman to Saint

Early Life

St. Bernardo of Corleone was born Filippo Latini on February 6, 1605, in the Sicilian town of Corleone, then part of the Kingdom of Sicily.  His family home was known locally as “the house of saints” because of the deep piety and charity practiced by his parents and siblings.  His father, Leonardo Latini, was a cobbler renowned for his compassion toward the poor, often bringing the needy into the family home to wash, clothe, and feed them.  In this atmosphere of Christian mercy, young Filippo developed a strong devotion to Christ Crucified and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Filippo learned the cobbler’s trade from his father, but his energetic temperament made it difficult for him to remain in the workshop.  After his father’s death, he supported his widowed mother for a time, but he was increasingly drawn to the adventurous culture of fencing and swordsmanship that flourished in Sicily, then garrisoned by Spanish mercenary troops.  Filippo became one of the most skilled swordsmen in the region, known for his strength, agility, and fearlessness.

Yet even in this turbulent period, he displayed noble instincts.  He used his sword only in what he called “Christian causes,” defending the elderly, women, and the poor from abuse by soldiers and brigands.  Still, his fiery temper and readiness to duel placed him in spiritual danger.  At age 27, after gravely wounding an opponent who had repeatedly provoked him, Filippo fled in fear of retaliation and legal consequences.  This crisis became the turning point of his life.

Conversion & Religious Vocation

Seeking sanctuary and repentance, Filippo turned to the Capuchin Franciscans in Palermo.  There he experienced a profound interior conversion, recognizing the vanity of worldly honor and the destructive power of anger.  He begged to be admitted to the Order as a lay brother, desiring a life of penance, humility, and service.

He received the habit in 1632 and the religious name Bernardo.  From the moment of his entrance, he embraced the Capuchin ideals with extraordinary fervor.  He asked for the most menial tasks, sought obscurity, and practiced rigorous asceticism.  His superiors, impressed by his sincerity, allowed him to live a life of intense prayer, fasting, and manual labor.

Bernardo’s transformation was so complete that those who had once known him as a fiery swordsman now saw only gentleness, meekness, and radiant charity.  His life became a living testimony to the power of grace to reshape even the most impetuous heart.

A life-like A.I.-generated image of St. Bernardo

based on old prints depicting his likeness.

His Virtues

St. Bernardo’s virtues were many, but several stood out with particular brilliance:

+ Humility: Bernardo deliberately chose the lowest tasks in the friary - kitchen work, cleaning, begging for alms - seeing in them opportunities to imitate Christ the Servant.  He avoided praise and preferred to remain unnoticed.

+ Meekness and Peacefulness: The man once known for dueling became a model of gentleness.  He bore insults patiently, forgave readily, and sought reconciliation wherever he went.  His transformation was so striking that it became a source of edification for the entire Order.

+ Charity Toward the Poor and Sick: Bernardo was tireless in caring for the sick in the friary infirmary.  He spent long hours comforting the suffering, praying with them, and performing acts of mercy.  His compassion reflected the example of his father and the Gospel spirit he had embraced.

+ Penitential Spirit: He practiced severe mortifications - fasting, vigils, and bodily penances - not out of self-hatred but out of love for Christ Crucified.  His penitential life was marked by joy, not gloom, and he encouraged others to trust in God’s mercy.

His Mystical Gifts

Bernardo’s intense life of prayer opened him to extraordinary miracles and mystical gifts.  Witnesses reported that he experienced:

+ Ecstasies: He was often seen rapt in contemplation, immobile and radiant, especially before the Blessed Sacrament.  His union with God was so deep that he seemed unaware of the world around him.

+ Prophetic Insight and Discernment: Bernardo possessed a supernatural ability to read hearts and offer spiritual counsel.  Many sought him out for guidance, and he often knew their needs before they spoke.

+ Miraculous Healings: Accounts from his contemporaries describe healings attributed to his prayers, especially among the sick he tended in the infirmary.

+ The Stigmata (Hidden Wounds of Christ): Although not publicly displayed, Bernardo is traditionally believed to have borne mystical participation in the wounds of Christ.  His intense devotion to the Passion and his extraordinary sufferings in prayer led many to recognize in him a hidden stigmatic - one who shared spiritually, and at times physically, in Christ’s redemptive wounds.  These mystical sufferings deepened his humility and intensified his union with the Crucified Lord.

The Saint's remains are encased in a statue

displayed at his tomb in Corleone, Italy.

Death & Glorification

St. Bernardo of Corleone died on January 12, 1667, in Palermo at the age of 61.  His passing was peaceful, marked by the serenity of a soul fully surrendered to God.  The people of Sicily immediately venerated him as a holy man, and devotion to him spread rapidly.

The Church formally recognized his sanctity in stages:

+ Beatification: May 15, 1768, by Pope Clement XIII

+ Canonization: June 10, 2001, by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square

In canonizing him, the Church held up Bernardo as a model of conversion, humility, and charity - a man who allowed grace to transform a fiery temperament into a vessel of peace and holiness.

Today he is venerated especially in Sicily and among the Capuchins.  He is considered a patron of victims of violence and expectant mothers, reflecting both his past as a defender of the vulnerable and his tender compassion for human life.

Conclusion

St. Bernardo of Corleone stands as a powerful witness to the transforming mercy of God.  His journey - from a skilled but hot‑tempered swordsman to a humble Capuchin filled with mystical grace - reveals the depth of God’s love for every soul.  His virtues, his hidden stigmata, and his radiant charity continue to inspire the faithful to seek holiness through humility, service, and devotion to Christ Crucified.

A relic from St. Bernardo's clothing gifted

to this ministry by a Capuchin Priest.

St. Bernardo of Corleone, pray for us!

Saint of the Month - November 2025: Teresa Helena Higginson

Servant of God

Teresa Helena Higginson

The Hidden Mystic of England

Teresa Helena Higginson was born on May 27, 1844, in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, into a pious Catholic family of English descent.  Her parents, devoted to their faith during a time when Catholicism was still viewed with suspicion in Protestant England, nurtured in her an early love of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Holy Eucharist.  From her earliest years, Teresa displayed extraordinary piety and an unusual sensitivity to the presence of the Divine.  Her childhood was marked by an innocence and purity that impressed all who knew her.  She was said to spend hours in silent prayer, even as a young girl, often found kneeling before the family crucifix absorbed in contemplation.

Educated at the convent school of the Sisters of Mercy in Liverpool, Teresa showed great intelligence and humility.  Her teachers noted her deep reverence for the Blessed Sacrament and her remarkable understanding of spiritual matters.  After completing her studies, she felt drawn to a life of service and became a schoolteacher.  She served faithfully in several schools, including those in Bootle, Orrell, and Neston, where she was known for her patience, kindness, and zeal for the moral and religious formation of her pupils.  Her teaching was not merely academic; she saw it as a sacred calling, a way to bring souls closer to Christ.

It was during these years that Teresa began experiencing spiritual phenomena that would mark her as one of England’s greatest mystic souls.  She possessed profound charisms, among them the gift of Ecstasies, Healing, Bilocation, Mystical Communions, visits from Christ and the Saints, physical battles with demonic spirits, and visible Stigmata.  Witnesses recounted that on certain Fridays, especially during Lent, Teresa bore on her body the marks of the Passion — wounds corresponding to those of Christ crucified.  Her hands, feet, and side would bleed, and she suffered intense physical pain offered in reparation for sins and for the sanctification of priests.  Yet she bore these sufferings with great serenity and secrecy, desiring only that they might remain hidden and serve the greater glory of God.

Teresa Helena (circled) as a Schoolteacher

The gift of Bilocation attributed to her was particularly extraordinary.  Accounts circulated among her fellow teachers and spiritual directors that Teresa had been seen in two places at once — instructing children in one classroom while simultaneously visiting and comforting the sick elsewhere.  She even claimed that she was sent by God on several occasions to a tribe in Africa to teach the Gospel to a chief and his subjects.  Such manifestations, though never publicly displayed, were quietly acknowledged by those who knew her intimately as further signs of divine favor.  Despite these extraordinary experiences, Teresa remained deeply humble.  She sought no recognition and lived a life of simplicity and obedience, completely surrendered to God’s will.

Teresa’s spiritual mission became more clearly defined through her mystical communications with Christ, who revealed to her the devotion to His Sacred Head as the Seat of Divine Wisdom.  Jesus made known to her His desire that this devotion be spread throughout the Church as a means to honor the source of all holy knowledge and to make reparation for the misuse of the intellect.  Teresa faithfully recorded these revelations under obedience to her confessor.  In them, Our Lord promised abundant graces to those who would venerate His Sacred Head — particularly for teachers, students, and all who sought wisdom and understanding.  This devotion became central to Teresa’s spirituality and remains one of her enduring legacies.

Throughout her life, Teresa endured intense trials: misunderstandings, physical ailments, and the spiritual darkness common to souls chosen for a high degree of union with God.  Her mystical sufferings often mirrored the Passion of Christ.  She accepted these crosses with heroic patience, finding joy even in affliction.  Her correspondence and spiritual writings reveal a profound interior life centered on the Eucharist and the Holy Trinity.  She possessed a burning love for Jesus and a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, often calling her “my sweet Mother.”

O Wisdom of the Sacred Head, guide us in all our ways.

O Love of the Sacred Heart, consume us with Thy fire!

In her later years, Teresa continued her teaching quietly, hidden from worldly acclaim but radiant with supernatural charity.  Those who knew her described her as gentle, deeply prayerful, and filled with an unearthly peace.  She had the gift of discernment and could read the hearts of those who came to her for counsel.  Many experienced conversion or consolation after speaking with her.  Despite her frail health, she remained devoted to her vocation until the end.

Teresa Helena Higginson died on February 15, 1905, at Chudleigh, Devon, at the age of sixty.  Word of her sanctity spread slowly, as she had lived a hidden and humble life.  However, her reputation for holiness and the accounts of her mystical gifts inspired great devotion among the faithful.  In 1937, her cause for beatification was opened, and she was declared a Servant of God by the Catholic Church.  Her incorrupt body was discovered in 1928, a further sign to many of her sanctity.

Today, Teresa Helena is remembered as a mystic and victim-soul who offered her life for the reparation of sin and the sanctification of priests and teachers.  Her promotion of the Devotion to the Sacred Head of Jesus as the Seat of Divine Wisdom remains a spiritual gem for the Church (click/tap here to learn more about this devotion).  Though not yet canonized, she stands as a powerful intercessor for all who seek humility, wisdom, and fidelity to God’s will.  Her life exemplifies the quiet grandeur of hidden holiness — a life consumed by Divine Love, illuminated by mystical grace, and offered for the salvation of souls.

Teresa Helena Higginson,

pray for us.

Saint of the Month - October 2025: Saint Maria Crescentia Hoss

St. Maria Crescentia Höss

A Life of Faith & Service

Feast: April 6th

+ Early Life and Calling

Maria Crescentia Höss was born on October 20, 1682, in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, Germany.  She was the sixth of eight children in a poor weaving family, and from an early age, she displayed a profound devotion to prayer and charity.  Despite her family's financial struggles, Crescentia felt a strong calling to religious life and desired to join the Franciscan Tertiaries in Kaufbeuren.  However, due to her lack of a dowry, she was initially denied entry into the convent.

Her fate changed when the Protestant mayor of Kaufbeuren, recognizing her virtue, intervened on her behalf.  He purchased a tavern adjacent to the convent and donated it to the sisters, requesting that Crescentia be admitted in return.  Though reluctantly accepted, she faced harsh treatment from the superior, who saw her as a burden.  She was assigned the most difficult and menial tasks, and was even denied a room in the convent so had to sleep on the floor in the cells of sympathetic nuns.  She endured this humiliation for years, yet remained steadfast in her faith and humility.

+ Life in the Convent

In 1703, Crescentia officially entered the convent, and by 1704, she professed her vows.  Over time, her patience and evident holiness won the respect of her fellow sisters.  In 1726, she was appointed novice mistress, a role in which she guided young women in their spiritual formation.  Her wisdom and deep prayer life made her a sought-after advisor, and even princes, bishops, and cardinals consulted her.

In 1741, our Saint was elected superior of the convent, despite her initial reluctance to accept the position.  She emphasized silence, recollection, and devotion to Christ Crucified, encouraging her sisters to deepen their spiritual lives.  She also promoted trust in Divine Providence, ensuring that the convent remained focused on virtue rather than material wealth.

+ Mystical Experiences

A significant aspect of Crescentia's legacy was her remarkable mystical experiences, which enriched her spiritual life and influenced those around her.  She frequently had visions of heavenly mysteries, particularly after receiving Holy Communion, and she also performed miracles.  One of her most striking supernatural feats was reportedly carrying water in a sieve after she was ordered to do so by her superior.  The task was likely imposed on her to test her obedience, as well as to break her resolve but it backfired in a spectacular manner!  This miraculous act demonstrated to her companions her sincerity and unwavering faith, and the tide began turning in her favor.  

Though her visions initially troubled her, she eventually embraced them as divine graces, recognizing them as gifts meant to strengthen her devotion and guide others in their spiritual journeys.  Furthermore, St. Crescentia's connection to the Holy Spirit was so alive that she saw Him as a beautiful youth dressed in a long white robe, which was a departure from the common iconography of the white dove; a depiction of her visions of the Holy Spirit was later painted in 1728.

The Holy Spirit, as He appeared

to St. Crescentia.

And lastly, this mystic was one of the rare souls who participated in the Passion of Christ in a physical manner - a Stigmatic - who relived the Lord's sufferings every Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM while in a state of prolonged ecstasy.

+ Spiritual Legacy and Canonization

Throughout her life, Crescentia not only endured spiritual trials but she also had various maladies, including severe headaches, toothaches, and crippling chronic pain that eventually left her bedridden.  Despite her afflictions, she remained joyful and continued to offer spiritual counsel.  She passed away on April 5, 1744, which was an Easter Sunday; a fitting end for a woman completely devoted to following Christ even to the Cross.

An A.I.-generated portrait of the Saint based

on the image shown above.

The deceased nun's enduring reputation for holiness in Germany eventually led to her Beatification in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII, and her Canonization in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.  Her relics are venerated at the Crescentiakloster in Kaufbeuren, where pilgrims continue to seek inspiration from her holy life.

The Saint’s tomb in her Franciscan Convent

+ Conclusion

St. Crescentia Höss exemplified unwavering faith, humility, and perseverance.  From enduring rejection and cruel treatment to becoming a revered spiritual leader, her life serves as a testament to the power of trust in God.  Her legacy continues to inspire those who seek a deeper connection with our Faith.

St. Maria Crescentia Hoss,

pray for us!

Saint of the Month - March 2025: Venerable Madre Maria Costanza Zauli

Ven. Maria Costanza Zauli

A Handmaid of the Eucharist

Although not yet Canonized, the life of this lofty Italian mystic is worth reflecting upon, especially for the upcoming Lenten Season.  Like many authentic mystics, her life was filled with many sufferings, patiently and generously endured for the love of God and in atonement for the sins of others ... yet compensated with sublime heavenly visitations and abundant graces.

Born in Faenza, Italy, on April 17, 1886, she was baptized on the following day - a Palm Sunday - by her highly devout parents.  Thus, they named her Palma Pascua ("Easter Palm").  She reportedly smiled sweetly and laughed as the baptismal waters flowed over her head prompting the priest to exclaim: "This little girl is singular! Usually little ones cry, while she smiles so much!"

Indeed, Palma was special in many ways. Being that she was the only daughter with 6 brothers, she was doted upon by her entire family - the girl was said to have been exceptionally affable, and displayed a deep piety from her earliest years.  In fact, in her diary Palma recounted how her father, Giuseppe, taught her to love the Blessed Virgin and how she often heard the Lord clearly "speaking" to her heart (interior locutions); teaching and guiding her, which she initially thought was common to all children.

A pivotal experience occurred when Palma was only about 3-years-old - her father took her to Mass with him during which she witnessed the Host brilliantly illuminated by a supernatural light. From henceforth she was enamored by the Eucharist and when Giuseppe asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, Palma decisively replied: "I will become a nun."

Throughout her pre-adolescent years, Palma amazed all who knew her with her admirable conduct, the aura of sanctity she exuded, and the special gifts God was clearly manifesting in her - she seemed to read souls and possessed a mature level of spiritual insight.  Of this period in her life, the Venerable once wrote: "The Lord, from then on, made himself known to my soul as a great light that enveloped me, permeated me, centered me in Himself, and I lived in that celestial atmosphere.  I preferred to remain in silence, in contemplation... In everything the Lord attracted me with an irresistible force and filled me with Himself."

At 9-years-old, Palma received Confirmation followed by her First Holy Communion, which was an earlier age than usual during her time. On both occasions she felt herself "alight" with presence of God, but it was during Communion that she heard Jesus say to her: "Will you be all mine as I am all yours, and forever? I have chosen you as my bride."  To this invitation Palma replied: "I will be yours forever."

In 1895, at the age of 20, Palma left home for Bologna to pursue her goal of becoming a nun.  Her vocation was at first opposed by her mother, but the young girl's firm resolve and Giuseppe's support managed to convince the woman.  So Palma entered the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart (a teaching and nursing congregation) on August 15th, the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption ... and after proving herself sincere and capable, she was admitted into investiture during which she was given the religious name of Sr. Maria Costanza (referred to as simply Sr. Costanza).

Sr. Costanza as a young nun.

In the convent, Sr. Costanza's mysticism escalated.  Frequent apparitions of our Lord occurred as He revealed to her profound heavenly mysteries and was apparently preparing her for a very special mission.  In her diary, she wrote these words concerning what the Lord was asking of her:

  "A great and luminous idea dominated my spirit from then on: the sanctity that the Lord demands of those consecrated to Him, priests, and religious: demands of love not sufficiently satisfied, for which the lament of the Divine Heart committed me to take the utmost care of my perfection, and to pray and offer for the sanctification of the chosen portion. With the consent of the director, I offered myself for this purpose so desired by God."

There were also encouraging appearances from the Madonna, whom Costanza loved dearly, and other visitations not so wonderful, as they involved the devil.  The enemy came in the form of a large menacing black dog to intimidate the young novice.  This infernal animal was also witnessed by the other nuns, but Sr. Costanza wasn't afraid - she simply invoked Our Lady and her guardian angel and it was usually sufficient to dispel the devil.

The profusion of extraordinary graces this Venerable experienced was so numerous, it will take too long to explain them all in a short blog.  So below is just a summary of some of the more significant ones:

• In separate successive visions, the Lord showed Sr. Costanza Purgatory, then Hell, and finally Heaven in 1911.

• During Holy Week of 1913, she experienced the suffering of the pains of Christ's Passion, via the Stigmata.  The Stigmata were repeated frequently, per witnesses who saw the wounds on her limbs.

• Also during Lent of 1913, on Good Friday, she underwent the Mystical Marriage with Jesus in the presence of His Holy Mother who placed her finger into a ring with three precious stones.

• The Eucharist was for her the summit of her spiritual life, triggering many of her visions, revelations, and outward signs such as ecstasies and a fiery glow on her face after Holy Communion or Adoration.

The nun, despite the unusual graces and sufferings she was living through, was able to fulfill her religious duties and was generally well-liked by her companions for her faith-example and the contagious joy she exuded; a smile was ever on her face ... and the students under her care loved her like a mother.  Furthermore, everything that God revealed to her, she entrusted to the guidance of her Confessor.

Beginning in 1923, Costanza came down with a mysterious and painful malady that mostly left her bedridden.  Our Lord had forewarned her of this trial, which He described as a participation and preparation for a great work.  In a series of revelations, He informed Costanza that she would leave her congregation to found another; Jesus wanted a new contemplative group of nuns who would  dedicate their lives to Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration for the specific purposes of praying for the sanctification of priests and religious; making reparation for their sins; supporting their work through prayer and sacrifices; and praying for spiritual vocations.

The sick nun sought discernment and approval from her Confessor and Cardinal Giorgio Cusmini, who unknown to her was the spiritual director to another reputable privileged soul, Elena Rocca (d. 1919 - read about her here).  Elena and Costanza were strangers to one another, but in September 1917 the Lord directed Elena to write to the Cardinal to urge him to support Sr. Costanza's initiative.  She did as instructed and was instrumental in setting into motion the establishment of the new congregation.

It wasn't until 1933 that the Handmaid Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament was finally founded amidst providential circumstances, in the face of many obstacles, and supported by the prayerful sacrifices on the part of Sr. Costanza and Elena Rocca.  On the day of the inauguration of the new monastery the foundress was miraculously healed of her illness and was able to join her spiritual daughters as their Mother Superior; she changed her name to Maria Costanza of the Sacred Side.  It was a name Jesus, Himself, had once called her because the work, He explained had sprung from his side-wound; hence, from the Sacred Heart, itself.

The Handmaid Adorers of the Blessed

Sacrament (Madre Costanza sits in the

front row to the left of the Cardinal).

Now a founder, Madre Costanza spent the rest of her life in complete dedication to the charism of her congregation and in intimate union with her Divine Spouse, via an intense Eucharistic Devotion.  Miracles and revelations also continued - she was reported to heal illnesses with her touch and foresee future events ... and demons still harassed her.

In July 1938 she was warned by Christ of an upcoming second World War.  Consequently, the founder transformed her monastery's cellar into a shelter, which she wisely stocked with necessary supplies.  When WWII erupted the year after in September 1939, her foresight greatly served not just her nuns, but also the local community.  Furthermore, God protected the Handmaids against the ravages of the war - bombs that fell on their monastery grounds failed to explode and bullets shot at their chapel missed the worshippers inside!  

Given that she had offered herself as an expiatory victim soul to mitigate the evils and ravages of the war (along with other mystic souls of her time) Madre Costanza suffered greatly.  By the time the war abated in Italy in the Spring of 1945, it had taken a toll on the nun; she began a slow decline.  In fact, Jesus appeared to her in August of that year bearing a magnificent jeweled crown for her, which she sensed was a happy foreshadowing of her eternal reward.  She lived until April 28, 1954, being 68-years-old at the time of her passing.

Madre Maria Costanza Zauli's Cause for Canonization is in progress; she was declared Venerable in June 2024.  Her body was discovered incorrupt during the ritual examination of her remains.  Please join this ministry in praying for her speedy Canonization.  Madre Costanza, pray for us!

A prayer leaflet w/a relic from Madre Maria

Costanza's veil, "Particella del Velo".