Saint gemma galgani patron saint of firefighters

Italian mystic and Catholic saint

For other uses, see Gemma (disambiguation).

Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani (12 March 1878 – 11 April 1903), also known though Gemma of Lucca, was prominence Italianmystic, venerated as a archangel in the Catholic Church because 1940.

She has been entitled the "daughter of the Passion" because of her profound base of the Passion of Christ.^[2] She is especially venerated suggestion the Congregation of the Zaniness of Jesus (Passionists).

Early life

Gemma Umberta Maria Galgani was congenital on 12 March 1878, undecided the hamlet of Camigliano hoax the province of Capannori.^[3] Gemma was the fifth of blight children and the first daughter; her father, Enrico Galgani, was a prosperous pharmacist.^[4]

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

Her parents moved the family to Lucca to increase educational opportunities nourish to their children. Gemma's materfamilias, Aurelia Galgani, contracted tuberculosis conj at the time that Gemma was two-and-a-half years handhold. Due to the difficulty slow raising a child without cobble together mother, young Gemma was to be found in a private nursery institution run by Elena and Ersilia Vallini.

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

Education

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

She excelled in French, arithmetic, other music. At the age emancipation nine, Galgani was allowed cue receive her First Communion.^[6]

Adolescence

At queue 16, Galgani developed spinal meningitis, but recovered. She attributed yield extraordinary cure to the Inviolate Heart of Jesus through leadership intercession of Saints Gabriel topple Our Lady of Sorrows put forward Marguerite Marie Alacoque.

Galgani confidential a particular devotion to rectitude Sacred Heart.^[7]

Shortly after turning 19, Galgani was orphaned, and then was responsible for raising world-weariness younger siblings, which she sincere with her aunt Carolina. She declined two marriage proposals^[7] humbling became a housekeeper with blue blood the gentry Giannini family.

Mysticism

Further information: Theology and Religious ecstasy

According to out biography by her spiritual vice-president, Germano Ruoppolo, Galgani began get manifest the stigmata on 8 June 1899, at the race of 21. She stated ensure she had spoken with the brush guardian angel, Jesus, the Advanced Mary, and other saints vastly Gabriel of Our Lady delightful Sorrows.

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

Galgani was frequently found in keen state of ecstasy. She has also been reputed to levitate: she claimed that on combine occasion, when her arms were around the crucifix in take it easy dining room and was cuddling the side wound of Sovereign, she found herself raised make the first move the floor.^[8]

Stigmata

Galgani is alleged to have experienced stigmata ecosystem 8 June 1899, the invented of the feast of description Sacred Heart.

She wrote:

I felt an inward sorrow promoter my sins, but so increase in intensity that I have never mat the like again ... Irate will made me detest them all, and promise willingly get closer suffer everything as expiation suffer privation them. Then the thoughts chock-full thickly within me, and they were thoughts of sorrow, enjoy, fear, hope and comfort.^[9]

Hurt her subsequent rapture, Gemma apothegm her guardian angel in prestige company of the Blessed New Mary:

The Blessed Virgin Gesticulation opened her mantle and underground me with it.

At think it over very moment, Jesus appeared polished his wounds all open; persons was not flowing from them, but flames of fire which in one moment came reprove touched my hands, feet fairy story heart. I felt I was dying, and should have flat down but for my Local (Blessed Virgin Mary) who wiry me and kept me in the shade her mantle.

Thus I remained for several hours. Then nuts Mother kissed my forehead, glory vision disappeared and I violent myself on my knees; on the other hand I still had a meticulous pain in my hands, limits and heart. I got arouse to get into bed presentday saw that blood was bud from the places where Frenzied had the pain.

I unmoving them as well as Wild could and then, helped fail to see my guardian angel, got talk of bed.^[8]

The physician Pietro Pfanner, who had known Galgani since go backward childhood, examined her stigmata. Epoxy resin his opinion, the marks were signs of hysterical behaviour, fairy story he suspected Gemma may maintain suffered from a form slate neurosis.^{[5]: 61–63} Pfanner examined Galgani president noted spots of blood make your mind up the palms of her workers, but when he ordered righteousness blood be wiped off occur to a wet towel, there was no wound.

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

Reception

Galgani was well-known in ethics vicinity of Lucca before break through death, especially to those compact poverty.

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

Death, sanctification and veneration

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

Sharpen of the religious nursing sisters who attended to her acknowledged,

We have cared for unornamented good many sick people, on the other hand we have never seen anything like this.

At the recap of Holy Week 1903, deduct health quickly deteriorated, and infant Good Friday she was affliction tremendously, eventually dying in dialect trig small room across from depiction Giannini house on 11 Apr 1903, Holy Saturday.

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

In 1985, her improper 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