St. Veronica Giuliani

No relation to Rudy, that I'm aware of

Veronica Giuliani, born Orsola, was an Italian Capuchin Poor Clare and mystic. She took the name Veronica when she entered religious life to commemorate the Passion of Christ. Eventually, she bore the stigmata— the wounds on her forehead and fibe other wounds. She was embarrassed by the stigmata and by the tests her bishop put her through to determine if they were genuine. Veronica was removed from ordinary community life for a time until her stigmata were determined to be authentic. Veronica was a religious for 50 years, serving as novice mistress for 34 and abbess for 11.

Something you don’t see, or at least hear of, very often in the life of mystics is how practical Veronica also was. She wouldn’t let the novices read mystics, instead making them study Christian basics. Veronica as abbess also enlarged the sisters’ cells and had water pumped inside the convent. Veronica knew the importance of the physical world, while giving it its proper place in the hierarchy of things. She knew that to understand and fully live the mystics, you must first indwell the basics.

I love this about Veronica. I, at least, often dismiss the mystics as being caught up in raptures and ecstasies and unable to relate to ordinary life. But Veronica did both! She reminds me that Catholicism is a both/and religion and that to prioritize one to the detriment of the other is to fail to fully embrace God in His infiniteness.

St. Veronica Giuliani, pray for us!

If you’d like to leave me a little tip, buy me a coffee (or energy drink), Venmo and PayPal are always welcome. God bless yinz.