Maria Gabriella Sagheddu

Maria Gabriella Sagheddu (* 1914 in Dorgali in Sardinia ; † April 23, 1939 in Grottaferrata ) was an Italian Trappist and is venerated as a blessed in the Catholic Church .

As a child - she was the daughter of a shepherd family - she is said to have been quick-tempered and rebellious, according to witnesses, but at the age of 18 her character took a change. At 21, she decided her life to God to consecrate and stepped on the advice of her confessor one in the Trappists. When her Superior Mother Maria Pia Gullini asked the sisters to pray for Christian unity, Mary felt a need to give even her life for this cause. She died of tuberculosis during Vespers at the age of 25 . Her memory spread quickly and in 1957 it was found that her body was intact. Her remains were then transferred to the monastery in Vitorchiano .

Pope John Paul II beatified her on January 25, 1983. In his ecumenical encyclical Ut unum sint , he took up Maria Gabriella's concern:

Because of her vocation to a life in isolation from the world, Sister Maria Gabriella has dedicated her existence to meditation and prayer with an emphasis on the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John and offered it for the unity of Christians. This is exactly the approach and core of every prayer: the total and unreserved surrender of one's life to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Sister Maria Gabriella's example teaches and helps us understand that there are no particular times, situations or places to pray for unity. Christ's prayer to the Father is a model for everyone, always and in every place.

Her feast day is April 22nd .

Web links

• Literature by and about Maria Gabriella Sagheddu in the catalog of the German National Library