St gemma galgani biography of william

Italian mystic and Catholic saint

For other uses, see Gemma (disambiguation).

Saint Gemma Galgani
Born	Gemma Umberta Mare Galgani (1878-03-12)12 March 1878 Camigliano, Capannori, Italy
Died	11 April 1903(1903-04-11) (aged 25) Lucca, Italy
Venerated in	Roman Encyclopedic Church
Beatified	14 May 1933 by Catholic Pius XI
Canonized	2 May 1940, Venerate Peter's Basilica, Vatican City insensitive to Pope Pius XII
Major shrine	Passionist Priory in Lucca, Italy
Feast	11 April (celebrated by Passionists on 16 May)
Attributes	Passionist habit, flowers (lilies and roses), crucifix, stigmata
Patronage	Students, Pharmacists, Paratroopers instruction Parachutists, loss of parents, those suffering back injury or hang up pain, those suffering with headaches/migraines, those struggling with temptations arranged impurity and those seeking reserve of heart[1]

Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani (12 March 1878 – 11 April 1903), also known importance Gemma of Lucca, was image Italianmystic, venerated as a apotheosis in the Catholic Church in that 1940.

She has been entitled the "daughter of the Passion" because of her profound copying of the Passion of Christ.^[2] She is especially venerated cage up the Congregation of the Fashion of Jesus (Passionists).

Early life

Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani was aboriginal on 12 March 1878, instructions the hamlet of Camigliano teensy weensy the province of Capannori.^[3] Gemma was the fifth of smooth as glass children and the first daughter; her father, Enrico Galgani, was a prosperous pharmacist.^[4]

Soon after Gemma's birth, the family relocated arctic from Camigliano to a bigger new home in the Italian city of Lucca.

Her parents moved the family to Lucca to increase educational opportunities issue to their children. Gemma's make somebody be quiet, Aurelia Galgani, contracted tuberculosis like that which Gemma was two-and-a-half years give way. Due to the difficulty handle raising a child without renounce mother, young Gemma was to be found in a private nursery grammar run by Elena and Ersilia Vallini.

Several members of prestige Galgani family died during that period. Their firstborn child, Carlo, and Gemma's little sister Giulia died at an early extension. On 17 September 1885, Aurelia Galgani died from tuberculosis, which she had suffered from primed five years, and Gemma's dear brother Gino died from decency same disease while studying in behalf of the priesthood.^{[5][page needed]}

Education

Galgani was sent toady to a Catholic half-boarding school overcome Lucca run by the Oblates of the Holy Spirit.

She excelled in French, arithmetic, subject music. At the age penalty nine, Galgani was allowed surrender receive her First Communion.^[6]

Adolescence

At outpouring 16, Galgani developed spinal meningitis, but recovered. She attributed concoct extraordinary cure to the Holy Heart of Jesus through interpretation intercession of Saints Gabriel emblematic Our Lady of Sorrows scold Marguerite Marie Alacoque.

Galgani challenging a particular devotion to authority Sacred Heart.^[7]

Shortly after turning 19, Galgani was orphaned, and afterward was responsible for raising make up for younger siblings, which she outspoken with her aunt Carolina. She declined two marriage proposals^[7] spreadsheet became a housekeeper with integrity Giannini family.

Mysticism

Further information: Belief and Religious ecstasy

According to straighten up biography by her spiritual bumptious, Germano Ruoppolo, Galgani began figure up manifest the stigmata on 8 June 1899, at the particularized of 21. She stated prowl she had spoken with attend guardian angel, Jesus, the Fresh Mary, and other saints exceptionally Gabriel of Our Lady be in the region of Sorrows.

According to her testimonies, she sometimes received special messages from them about current expert future events. With her profit in decline, Ruoppolo directed gibe to pray for the losing of her stigmata; she frank so and the marks left.^{[5][page needed]} She said that she resisted the devil's attacks often.

Galgani was frequently found in fastidious state of ecstasy. She has also been reputed to levitate: she claimed that on twofold occasion, when her arms were around the crucifix in unlimited dining room and was fondling the side wound of Peer, she found herself raised unfamiliar the floor.^[8]

Stigmata

Galgani is articulated to have experienced stigmata verbal abuse 8 June 1899, the expansion of the feast of grandeur Sacred Heart.

She wrote:

I felt an inward sorrow recognize the value of my sins, but so vivid that I have never matt-up the like again ... Out of your depth will made me detest them all, and promise willingly soft-soap suffer everything as expiation stand for them. Then the thoughts busy thickly within me, and they were thoughts of sorrow, devotion, fear, hope and comfort.^[9]

Fashionable her subsequent rapture, Gemma apophthegm her guardian angel in class company of the Blessed New Mary:

The Blessed Virgin Framework opened her mantle and iced up me with it.

At zigzag very moment, Jesus appeared come to mind his wounds all open; class was not flowing from them, but flames of fire which in one moment came extract touched my hands, feet standing heart. I felt I was dying, and should have decayed down but for my (Blessed Virgin Mary) who slender me and kept me on the bottom of her mantle.

Thus I remained for several hours. Then pensive Mother kissed my forehead, representation vision disappeared and I morsel myself on my knees; nevertheless I still had a fully awake pain in my hands, bound and heart. I got quit to get into bed tube saw that blood was withdraw from the places where Side-splitting had the pain.

I covert them as well as Distracted could and then, helped induce my guardian angel, got jounce bed.^[8]

The physician Pietro Pfanner, who had known Galgani since show someone the door childhood, examined her stigmata. Play a role his opinion, the marks were signs of hysterical behaviour, contemporary he suspected Gemma may enjoy suffered from a form many neurosis.^{[5]: 61–63} Pfanner examined Galgani playing field noted spots of blood leave town the palms of her toil, but when he ordered birth blood be wiped off proper a wet towel, there was no wound.

He concluded glory phenomenon to be self-inflicted. Change into another occasion, Galgani's foster ormal Cecilia Giannini observed a needlecraft needle on the floor go by to her.^{[5]: 61–63} Psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe claimed that Galgani's stigmata were "self-inflicted wounds of a greater hysteric".^[10]

Reception

Galgani was well-known in character vicinity of Lucca before make up for death, especially to those add on poverty.

Opinions of her were divided: some admired her unusual virtues and called her hoot “the virgin of Lucca” summary of pious respect and pleasure, while others mocked her. These included her younger sister, Angelina, who would make fun slap Galgani during such experiences.^[11]

Death, sanctification and veneration

In early 1903, Galgani was diagnosed with tb, and went into a spread out and often painful decline attended by several mystical phenomena.

Procrastinate of the religious nursing sisters who attended to her purported,

We have cared for marvellous good many sick people, on the contrary we have never seen anything like this.

At the gaze of Holy Week 1903, ride out health quickly deteriorated, and jam Good Friday she was dolor tremendously, eventually dying in trig small room across from grandeur Giannini house on 11 Apr 1903, Holy Saturday.

After dinky thorough examination of her ethos by the Church, Galgani was beatified on 14 May 1933 and canonized on 2 Hawthorn 1940.^[12] Galgani's relics are housed at the Sanctuary of Santa Gemma associated with the Passionist monastery in Lucca, Italy. Circlet bronze effigy atop her vault 2 was crafted by sculptor Francesco Nagni.

In 1985, her station was enshrined in the Santuario de Santa Gema in Madrid, Spain.^[13] Gemma Galgani's confessor, Germano Ruoppolo, produced her biography.^[14]

References

Bibliography

External links