SAINTS OF FOR ALL SEASONS
SAINT  VERONICA GIULIANI

By Cliff Garvey

In the Roman Catholic tradition, a saint is a person who is canonized or formally recognized by the Church after his or her death; a person worthy of veneration, a person worthy of our prayers and petitions. According to Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia, saints are those persons who are united with God “in sharing forever a life that is divine and free from all decay.” The saints have “found true life with God” and “they share in his life and glory…and they share in his happiness (893).”

About the communion of saints, Pope Francis says: “The saints are not super heroes, nor were they born perfect. They are like us, like each one of us. They are people who before reaching the glory of heaven, lived normal lives with joys and sorrows, struggles and hopes. What changed their lives? They recognized God’s love and they followed it with their whole heart without reserve or hypocrisy. They spent their lives serving others. They endured suffering and adversity without hatred and they responded to evil with good by spreading joy and peace. This is the life of a saint (Solemnity of All Saints, 2013).”

All of this is especially true for Saint Veronica Giuliani, who lived for sixty-six years from 1660 until 1727. The details of her life vary from source to source. In 2010, during a General Audience celebrating the 350th anniversary of her birth, Pope Benedict XVI teaches us that Orsola Giuliani was born and raised in Mercatello, an ancient settlement in north-central Italy. Some biographies claim that she was one of seven children, but the Franciscan Book of Saints says that Orsola Giuliani was one of five daughters whose mother died when she was just four years old.

Before her death, Orsola’s mother entrusted each of her children into the Lord’s care, assigning each to one of the five wounds of the Crucified Christ. Orsola was assigned to the wound in the Lord’s side. As a young child, she was ornery and irritable, but remembering that her mother told her that she would find comfort and refuge in the wounds of the Suffering Jesus, Orsola began to cooperate with God’s grace and she soon developed a deep spiritual life.

At age seventeen, Orsola persuaded her father to allow her to enter the convent of the Capuchin Poor Clares which is located about forty miles from Assisi. Pope Benedict says: “She would remain here for the rest of her life. Here she received the name of Veronica, which means ‘true image’ and she became a true image of the Crucified Christ (General Audience, 12-15-10).”

During the next seventeen years, Sister Veronica impressed the community by her humility, obedience, and love for both penance and poverty. She was soon entrusted with teaching and supervising the novices. She instructed them by her good example — that devotion to the teachings of the Church and docility to the Rule of the Poor Clares are the best ways to live in holiness.

Behind the scenes, Sister Veronica grew closer and closer to the Poor Christ and his Sacred Wounds. At the age of thirty-three, the marks of a crown of thorns appeared on her forehead. Three years later, the five wounds of the stigmata appeared on her body. About this experience, Sister Veronica writes: “I saw five radiant rays issue from his most holy wounds; and they all shined on my face. And I saw these rays become, as it were, little tongues of fire. In four of them were the nails; and in one of them was the spear, as of gold, red hot and white hot, and it went straight through my heart, from one side to the other. And the nails pierced my hands and feet. I felt great pain, but in this same pain, I saw myself, I felt myself totally transformed by God (Diary 1, 897).”

Doubting her sincerity and the authenticity of her wounds, the local bishop launched an inquiry that deprived Sister Veronica of her freedom. She was dismissed from her ministry with the novices. She was denied Holy Communion. She was imprisoned in a cell. And she was stripped of every human comfort including contact with her sisters. The Franciscan Book of Saints reports: “At the conclusion of these trials, the bishop reported to Rome that Sister Veronica obeyed every one of his commands and showed not the least sign of sadness amid all this harsh treatment, but rather an inexpressible peace and joy of spirit (492).” Released from these ordeals, Sister Veronica was chosen as abbess of the monastery, a position that she held until her death.

During her final illness, which lasted for thirty-three days, she endured great pain and suffering. But no agony could suppress her joy. Sister Veronica’s last words were these: “I have found love! Love has let himself be seen! This is the cause of my suffering! Tell everyone! Tell everyone!” After Sister Veronica’s passing, a diary consisting of nearly 22,000 handwritten pages was discovered and shared with the world. Pope Benedict XVI says: “Her writing flows spontaneously and continuously. There are no crossings out, corrections, or punctuation, nor was the material divided into chapters or parts (General Audience, 12-15-10).”

The Holy Father also describes her deep faith: “Saint Veronica has a markedly Christological and spousal spirituality. She experienced being loved by Christ, her faithful and sincere bridegroom, to whom she wanted to respond with an ever more involved and passionate love. She interpreted everything in the key of love and this imbued her with a deep sincerity. She lived everything in union with Christ, for love of him, and with the joy of being able to demonstrate to him all the love of which a creature is capable. The Christ to whom Veronica was profoundly united was the Suffering Christ of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection. It was Jesus in the act of offering himself to the Father in order to save us (General Audience, 12-15-10).”

Saint Veronica Giuliani, abbess, mystic, and stigmatist, was beatified in 1804 and canonized in 1839. She is venerated as a patron saint of photographers and laundry workers; as a patron saint of her home monastery which is now named for her; and as a patron saint of the Poor Clare Capuchins. Saint Veronica Giuliani is not a household name. Her monastery is not a world famous pilgrimage destination. Her cult of devotion cannot compare with Saint Francis, Saint Clare, Saint Pio, or Saint Therese. And yet, she calls to us from across the ages: “O sinners, all men and women, come to the Heart of Jesus! Come to be cleansed by his most precious blood! He awaits you with open arms to embrace you all!” Confident in the power of her prayers, we call back:

God of love,
in Saint Veronica Giuliani,
who is forever united with the Poor Christ,
you give us a wondrous example
of perfect patience and ardent charity.
By her prayers and petitions,
help us to discover the sweetness
found in the Cross of Christ,
and the confidence to entrust
our intentions into her care.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Veronica Giuliani, pray for us! Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us! Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us!

About the Author

Cliff Garvey is a co-founder of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary College, and the Catholic University of America. Cliff is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as Associate Minister of the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts where his ministry focuses on adult faith formation. Thank you for listening to True Image: Saint Veronica Giuliani. The Assisi Project Podcast is produced by the Assisi Project, Inc. For more information about the Assisi Project: A Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit and our programs and ministries for adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Cliff Garvey at cgarvey@assisiproject.com. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. May the Lord give you peace!

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About Us

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. All are welcome to support our ministry via PayPal (see link below); or by sending a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. For more information about the Assisi Project, please contact Cliff Garvey at cgarvey@assisiproject.com. May the Lord give you peace!

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