St gemma galgani autobiography

Italian mystic and Catholic saint

For other uses, see Gemma (disambiguation).

Saint Gemma Galgani
Born	Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani ()12 March Camigliano, Capannori, Italy
Died	11 April () (aged&#;25) Lucca, Italy
Venerated&#;in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	14 May by Pope Pius XI
Canonized	2 May , Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Pius XII
Major shrine	Passionist Monastery 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 and Parachutists, loss of parents, those suffering back injury or back pain, those suffering with headaches/migraines, those struggling with temptations to impurity and those seeking purity of heart[1]

Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani (12 March – 11 April ), also known as Gemma of Lucca, was an Italianmystic, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church since She has been called the "daughter of the Passion" because of her profound imitation of the Passion of Christ.^[2] She is especially venerated in the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus (Passionists).

Early life

Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani was born on 12 March , in the hamlet of Camigliano in the province of Capannori.^[3] Gemma was the fifth of eight children and the first daughter; her father, Enrico Galgani, was a prosperous pharmacist.^[4]

Soon after Gemma's birth, the family relocated north from Camigliano to a larger new home in the Tuscan city of Lucca.

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The life of st gemma galgani

Her parents moved the family to Lucca to increase educational opportunities available to their children. Gemma's mother, Aurelia Galgani, contracted tuberculosis when Gemma was two-and-a-half years old. Due to the difficulty of raising a child without her mother, young Gemma was placed in a private nursery school run by Elena and Ersilia Vallini.

Several members of the Galgani family died during this period. Their firstborn child, Carlo, and Gemma's little sister Giulia died at an early age. On 17 September , Aurelia Galgani died from tuberculosis, which she had suffered from for five years, and Gemma's beloved brother Gino died from the same disease while studying for the priesthood.^{[5][page&#;needed]}

Education

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

She excelled in French, arithmetic, and music. At the age of nine, Galgani was allowed to receive her First Communion.^[6]

Adolescence

At age 16, Galgani developed spinal meningitis, but recovered. She attributed her extraordinary cure to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the intercession of Saints Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and Marguerite Marie Alacoque.

Galgani had a particular devotion to the Sacred Heart.^[7]

Shortly after turning 19, Galgani was orphaned, and thereafter was responsible for raising her younger siblings, which she did with her aunt Carolina.

St gemma galgani autobiography pdf All of a sudden I saw my Protector standing before me at the foot of my bed. On Thursday evening I began to make the Holy Hour. It feels like it is trying to bite my toes. Over 5 years ago I dropped into a black hole — four months of absolute terror.

She declined two marriage proposals^[7] and became a housekeeper with the Giannini family.

Mysticism

Further information: Mysticism and Religious ecstasy

According to a biography by her spiritual director, Germano Ruoppolo, Galgani began to manifest the stigmata on 8 June , at the age of She stated that she had spoken with her guardian angel, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and other saints especially Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.

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

Galgani was frequently found in a state of ecstasy. She has also been reputed to levitate: she claimed that on one occasion, when her arms were around the crucifix in her dining room and was kissing the side wound of Jesus, she found herself raised from the floor.^[8]

Stigmata

Galgani is said to have experienced stigmata on 8 June , the eve of the feast of the Sacred Heart.

She wrote:

I felt an inward sorrow for my sins, but so intense that I have never felt the like again My will made me detest them all, and promise willingly to suffer everything as expiation for them. Then the thoughts crowded thickly within me, and they were thoughts of sorrow, love, fear, hope and comfort.^[9]

In her subsequent rapture, Gemma saw her guardian angel in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

The Blessed Virgin Mary opened her mantle and covered me with it.

At that very moment, Jesus appeared with his wounds all open; blood was not flowing from them, but flames of fire which in one moment came and touched my hands, feet and heart. I felt I was dying, and should have fallen down but for my Mother (Blessed Virgin Mary) who supported me and kept me under her mantle.

St gemma galgani autobiography summary As a result, I ended my stay in Rome with at least some knowledge of the Italian language. My translation of the Autobiography was published in two places at the time: "The Passionist", July ; and "Cross and Crown", June and September I think, dear Father, that when you read this and learn of all my sins you will be angry with me and will no longer want to be my Father. The date given here corrects her mistake and is taken from the baptismal register.

Thus I remained for several hours. Then my Mother kissed my forehead, the vision disappeared and I found myself on my knees; but I still had a keen pain in my hands, feet and heart. I got up to get into bed and saw that blood was coming from the places where I had the pain. I covered them as well as I could and then, helped by my guardian angel, got into bed.^[8]

The physician Pietro Pfanner, who had known Galgani since her childhood, examined her stigmata.

In his opinion, the marks were signs of hysterical behaviour, and he suspected Gemma may have suffered from a form of neurosis.^{[5]:&#;61–63&#;} Pfanner examined Galgani and noted spots of blood on the palms of her hands, but when he ordered the blood be wiped off with a wet towel, there was no wound.

He concluded the phenomenon to be self-inflicted.

St gemma galgani autobiography Like this website? There didn't seem to be any relief in sight. Authentic Photo--Click photo for more. I had to rise at five o'clock, go to the choir at , receive Holy Communion and then recite Prime and Sext with the nuns.

On another occasion, Galgani's foster mother Cecilia Giannini observed a sewing needle on the floor next to her.^{[5]:&#;61–63&#;} Psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe claimed that Galgani's stigmata were "self-inflicted wounds of a major hysteric".^[10]

Reception

Galgani was well-known in the vicinity of Lucca before her death, especially to those in poverty.

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

Death, canonization and veneration

In early , Galgani was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and went into a long and often painful decline accompanied by several mystical phenomena.

One of the religious nursing sisters who attended to her stated,

We have cared for a good many sick people, but we have never seen anything like this.

At the beginning of Holy Week , her health quickly deteriorated, and by Good Friday she was suffering tremendously, eventually dying in a small room across from the Giannini house on 11 April , Holy Saturday.

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

In , her heart 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