During the Audience granted on 19 January 2023 to His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Supreme Pontiff has authorised the Dicastery to promulgate the Decree concerning the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Maria Margherita Diomira of the Incarnate Word, a professed religious of the Sisters Established in the Charity of the Good Shepherd, born in Firenzuola (Diocese of Florence-Italy) on 26 April 1651 and died in Florence on 17 December 1677.
The Venerable Maria Margherita Diomira of the Incarnate Word (1651- 1677) was a young mystic who was sanctified within the walls of the Convent of Charity, founded in Florence by the priest Vittorio dell’Ancisa in 1589, where the so-called ‘Stabilite’ sisters lived in contemplation and the service of welcoming young women. Through the practice of the spiritual exercises of St Ignatius, she learnt to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation, which became the centre of her spiritual life.
Considering the self-abasement of the Son of God in the human condition made her supremely fond of the practice of humility. This virtue won her constant communion with God.
While living in seclusion, she participated in the mission of the Church by offering her prayer and suffering for the salvation of all, for civil society, and the holiness of priests.
She received extraordinary gifts from the Lord, such as the scrutiny of hearts, prophecy, and the ability to counsel; she was favoured by ecstasies, visions, and raptures until the impression of the stigmata in 1677.
Stricken with consumption, she offered herself as a victim of love to the Lord, and with this feeling, she died in great fame of holiness on 17 December 1677, at the age of just 26.
The Cause of beatification, which began in 1704, was entrusted in 1885 to the Postulator General of the Observant Friars Minor, Brother Bernardino da Grotte di Castro. Today, after a long journey, it has reached the goal of the promulgation of her heroic virtues.
