Ordinary Time: February 13th
Monday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time
Other Commemorations: Bl. Christine of Spoleto (RM)
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Today the Roman Martyrology commemorates Bl. Christine of Spoleto (1435-1458). Born Agostina Camozzi in Osteno, Como, Italy, she was the daughter of a well-known doctor. After several years of living contrary to God's ways, she gave herself to Jesus, became an Augustinian Tertiary, and gained a reputation as a holy woman and miracle worker.
Bl. Christine of Spoleto
Blessed Christine suffered great losses early in life, causing her to reconsider seriously the goals and ambitions she had previously considered essential.
Trials brought her to a deeper level of faith in God, renewed dedication to the Church, and generous service to others. She found in Augustinian spirituality a reliable guide and support in living the Christian life, while remaining a laywoman fully engaged in the world
Agostina Camozzi was the daughter of a well-known doctor in Ostenso in the Italian province of Como. A graceful and attractive young woman, she married at an early age but within a short time was left widowed. In a second relationship she suffered the loss of her only child, a son. A subsequent marriage left her widowed again, this time at the hands of a jealous rival. In about 1450 Agostina underwent a serious conversion, became an Augustinian Tertiary, and changed her name to that of Christine.
Her life now was to be one of penance, prayer, and the works of mercy. She lived in various Augustinian convents, moving from one to another, in order to remain in obscurity as best she could. In 1457 she undertook a pilgrimage with the intention of visiting Assisi, Rome and Jerusalem. Together with another tertiary she arrived in Spoleto in the province of Perugia where she devoted herself to the care of the sick and where she died on February 13, 1458, not yet 30 years of age.
Her body was interred in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Spoleto, which at the time belonged to the Augustinians. Her reputation as a woman of holiness and a worker of numerous miracles caused devotion to Christine to spread quickly and widely. Gregory XVI confirmed her cult in 1834, proclaiming her blessed.
—Excerpted from the Augustinian Website
Patronage: Calvisano, Italy
Highlights and Things to Do:
- Read more about Bl. Christina:
- Bl. Christina's relics are located in church of Saint Gregory the Great in Spoleto, in the Umbrian region of Italy.
- There is an academic reading of the study of Blessed Christina's mummy. Her body was preserved artificially. See Idle Speculations for a short summary.