Saint of the Day: Bl. Giuseppina Catanea

Discalced Carmelite Nun (1894-1948)

Her life

+ Giuseppina was born into a noble Italian family. A pious girl known for her devotion to the Eucharist, she contracted tuberculosis and was eventually confined to a wheelchair.

+ Despite her family’s objections, she became a Carmelite nun in 1918 and, following a vision of Saint Francis Xavier, she was miraculously cured in 1922. As word of her cure spread, many came to her seeking spiritual guidance.

+ In 1932, Pope Pius XII granter her permission to establish a new community of Discalced Carmelites, taking the name Maria Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified. She became subprioress in 1934.

+ In 1943, Sister Maria Giuseppina developed multiple sclerosis and, within a year, was again confined to a wheelchair.

+ Following the instruction of her spiritual director, she began writing a spiritual autobiography so that later generations of sisters could learn from her. Despite her physical limitations, she was elected prioress of the community in 1945, holding the post for the remainder of her life.

+ Blessed Maria Giuseppina died in Naples on March 14, 1948, and was beatified in 2008.

For prayer and reflection

“One thing is necessary: she has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.”—Luke 10:42

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember the mystic and visionary Blessed Dorothy of Montau. A wife and mother of nine children, she became a nun after her husband’s death. Remembered for intense devotion to the Eucharist, Blessed Dorothy died on January 25, 1394, in Marienwerder, Kwidzyn, Poland. Devotion to this holy woman was officially approved in 1976.

Prayer

O God, who called your handmaid blessed Maria Giuseppina to seek you before all else, grant that, serving you, through her example and intercession, with a pure and humble heart, we may come at last to your eternal glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For a Nun)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.