Blessed Maria Gabriella
Blessed Maria Gabriella (Italian: Maria Gabriella Sagheddu; born March 17, 1914 AD in Dorgali, Sardinia, Italy; died April 23, 1939 AD at the Trappist monastery of Grottaferrata, near Rome, Italy) was an Italian Trappist (Cistercian) nun who offered her life for the cause of Christian unity and died at the age of twenty-five. She is venerated as a Blessed of the Church and is a patroness of the ecumenical movement. Her feast day is April 22.
A young Sardinian shepherdess who became a Cistercian nun, Maria Gabriella Sagheddu offered herself to God for the unity of Christians, in response to prayer for that intention, and was soon after struck by tuberculosis, of which she died. She was beatified in 1983.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Maria Gabriella
| Blessed Maria Gabriella | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | April 22 |
| Profession | Trappist (Cistercian) nun |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Trappists (Cistercians of the Strict Observance) |
| Patronage | Christian unity and the ecumenical movement; the young; those who die young |
| Attributes | Trappist habit; the Gospel of John (opened to "that they may be one") |
| Birthplace | Dorgali, Sardinia, Italy |
| Death Place | Grottaferrata, near Rome, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural death (tuberculosis); Trappist nun who offered her life for Christian unity; died young at Grottaferrata |
| Primary Shrine | Trappist monastery of Vitorchiano, Italy |
Biography
Maria Gabriella Sagheddu was born on March 17, 1914, at Dorgali, in the mountainous interior of Sardinia, Italy, into a shepherding family. As a girl she was known to be strong-willed and even stubborn; but after the death of a sister and a deepening of her faith, she underwent a profound conversion and gave herself wholeheartedly to God.
At the age of twenty-one she entered the Trappist (Cistercian) monastery of Our Lady at Grottaferrata, near Rome, embracing the austere contemplative life of prayer, silence, penance, and work. She was noted for her exact and generous obedience and her spirit of self-giving.
At that time the monastery had taken up prayer for the unity of Christians, at the urging of the ecumenical pioneer Abbé Paul Couturier, who promoted an octave of prayer for Christian unity. Moved by Christ's prayer at the Last Supper "that they may all be one" (John 17), Sister Maria Gabriella, with her superior's permission, offered her own life to God for the unity of the Church.
Very soon afterward she fell ill with tuberculosis, and after some fifteen months of suffering, borne with peace and joy, she died at Grottaferrata on April 23, 1939, at the age of twenty-five. Her offering came to be seen as a seed of the ecumenical movement, and her memory is honored by Christians of various communions.
Maria Gabriella was beatified on January 25, 1983, by Pope John Paul II, in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, at the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Her feast is kept on April 22.
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Feast day
April 22
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