In the centre of the Italian peninsula lies the town of Mercatello, the birthplace of Ursula, seventh and last daughter of Francesco Giuliani and Benedita Mancini, born on December 27, 1660.1
The story of this lady is characterized by her intimate relationship with the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that Ursula came to be called Veronica, a name that means, according to a traditional interpretation, true image, because Providence had reserved for her the special calling to resemble the Divine Master through suffering.
Childhood of a predestined soul
Everyday incidents from her childhood demonstrate the unique path that God had mapped out for her.
One day while she was accompanying a maid at the market, before the little girl had learned to speak, a shopkeeper who wanted to take unfair advantage in the sale of olive oil heard Ursula say: “Be just, because God sees you.”2 Astonishment seized everyone, and in their surprise they hardly knew whether to focus on the fact that these were the child’s first words or on the wisdom they contained.
Another noteworthy episode took place when she was about four years old, during the illness that would lead to her mother’s death.
As she was about to receive the Viaticum, little Ursula saw the Sacred Species and asked the priest to let her receive the Eucharist as well. Those present, to distract her from this innocent and holy desire, said that there was only one Host, to which she replied that a fragment could be taken from it, “since, just as a broken mirror – a comparison which she herself enunciated with prodigious ease – does not fail to represent the whole object in each piece, so in every fragment of the divided Host Jesus was whole and perfect.”3
Even in early childhood, her greatest amusement was a certain devotion. On one of the walls of the house hung a painting of Our Lady with her Son. The little girl used to decorate the simple image with ribbons from her own clothes, and there she would talk to the Mother of God and the Divine Infant, even bringing meals and inviting the Child Jesus to partake.
Her acts of piety were rewarded when one day she heard the Blessed Virgin say to her: “My daughter! This Son of mine loves you so much! Prepare yourself, for He will be your Bridegroom.”4 And later, a few words spoken by the Saviour defined what was to be the hallmark of her life: “My spouse, the cross awaits you.”5
For 21st-century readers, immersed in a completely materialistic society, these facts may sound like mere legends. But those who have faith are able to see a deeper meaning in these events. In fact, history shows that, through graces such as these, Providence was making an invitation to Ursula, one which she fully accepted.
The battle begins
After becoming a widower, her father decided to move to the city of Piacenza. Ursula and her sisters stayed in Mercatello in the care of an uncle, following their father a few years later. It was during this period that, remaining faithful to the alliance established with the supernatural, she decided to become a nun. She sealed this resolution with much prayer and fervour in her Communions and, keeping her heart recollected in God, she set out on a path of penance.
She was soon visited by temptations and difficulties. On one occasion, two demons appeared before her in human guise, in an immodest pose, to incite her to deviate from the practice of angelic virtue. She paid not the least attention to this scene, but fled in haste. These struggles were continuous in her life; however, her soul, absorbed in the highest things, always emerged victorious over the insidiousness snares of the evil one.
At this stage of her life, however, the hardest battle was fought against her father’s decision that she marry. There were two paths open to the young woman: either to give herself over to the pleasures of the world in the company of her family, or to fulfil God’s will, which she clearly discerned. Ursula chose the second path.
Among his relentless efforts to make her follow the way of the world, Signore Giuliani had another of his daughters, who was a nun in a convent of Mercatello, attempt to persuade her. This effort only elicited from Ursula a response that could well be repeated to all those who seek to dissuade authentic vocations: “Be careful not to say another word to me about this, for if you speak to me about it, you will never see me again. And you, as a religious, should be ashamed of such discourse, because you are contradicting the sentiments of St. Clare, who exhorted us to follow religion and not the vanities of the world.”6
As soon as these words reached her father’s ears, he finally gave his consent to the fulfilment of his daughter’s wishes.
Entering the convent
Her first attempt to enter the convent of the Capuchin Poor Clares in Città di Castello was unsuccessful, as there were no vacancies. It was not until she applied for a second time that Ursula was admitted, and she girded herself with the sacred cord on July 17, 1677, when she was still seventeen years old. After three months she took the religious habit, receiving the name Veronica. At the end of her novitiate in 1678, she made the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Convinced of her calling, her main desire was to become, through prayer and suffering, “a mediator between sinners and God in order to completely destroy the sins of the world.”7 United in her intentions to Christ crucified, Veronica was able to see in every trial that arose in the monastery a means of union with the Lord.
In community life, she carried out numerous roles, including cook, nurse and sacristan. At the age of thirty-four she was given the office of novice mistress and held it for twenty-two years, until she was appointed abbess for over a decade.
Various wonders accompanied her fulfilment of these duties, from the multiplication of cheeses to the physical and spiritual healing of the sick. In the simplicity of monastic life, her motto was: “Trust in God”.8
The mysterious chalice of Christ’s Passion
God granted her special graces by communicating with her through supernatural visions, which Veronica called “recollections”. In one of His first revelations, Our Lord appeared to her with the cross on His shoulders, inviting her to suffer. Placing the wood in her heart, He gave her to understand the inestimable value of suffering.
In another vision, the Divine Master showed her a chalice, which she understood to be a symbol of the passion she was to live within herself. This apparition was repeated several times and in different ways. In one of them, it was revealed to her that when she had to drink from this chalice, her afflictions would be caused by demons as well as by men and even God himself, accompanied by interior aridity and desolation. Thirsty for this “inebriating drink”, reserved for hearts inflamed with love, Veronica longed to drink it.
Our Lady once appeared to her with her Divine Son at her side. He handed His Mother a chalice filled to the brim. On receiving it, the Blessed Virgin said to Veronica: “Daughter, I give you this gift from my Son.”9
This chalice became engraved in her spirit, causing her delicate nature to shudder with horror. Often, the mysterious liquid contained therein was poured over her, burning her with ardent flames. Other times, drops would fall on her food, giving it a bitter and objectionable taste. Finally, some turned into swords, spears and arrows that tore her body and pierced her heart. In the meantime, demons tempted her with the most horrifying filth, and the apparent separation from God led her to feel deprived of all help, producing great anguish in her soul.
But this symbol of the daily sufferings she endured did not just bring her bitterness. On certain occasions it gave her a sense of comfort, based on the certainty that this was the means chosen by God for her sanctification: her happiness consisted of knowing that her soul was in order, because she was fulfilling God’s will.
Crowning with thorns and mystical espousal
Veronica’s journey followed in the footsteps of the Passion and, one day, Our Lord granted her the grace of mystically receiving the crown of thorns. The pain caused by the thorns would accompany her until the end of her life with varying degrees of intensity, sometimes causing her to faint. A reddish circle was visible encircling her forehead or, on other occasions, small blisters and rounded purple marks in the shape of thorns could be seen descending towards her eyes. One of them went through her right eye, causing her to shed blood-stained tears.
As the sisters of the monastery could find no way to help Veronica with her “illness”, the diocesan Bishop Lucas Antonio Eustachi decided to act with caution. He ordered her to undergo medical treatment and surgery to try to cure the marks, which could have been caused by some unknown disease. No results were obtained and the marks remained on her face. Given the incurability of the wounds, the Bishop declared that the phenomenon could not be attributed to natural causes.
Seeing her thus adorned with His regal crown, the Divine Saviour decided the time had come to realize the mystical espousal with Veronica, promised to her since childhood.
The nuptials, celebrated during Communion on Easter Sunday 1694, were prepared by overwhelming graces of love for God and a burning desire to be united with Him, followed by a period of complete aridity and interior darkness, during which Veronica repeated with the utmost resignation:
“My God, if it be Thy good pleasure that I should remain like this, it is definitely mine as well. I wish nothing but Thy will and whatever entirely pleases Thee.”10
The wounds of Our Lord
Through a special work of grace, Veronica understood the mystery behind suffering. Accepting and loving sacrifice, she felt inspired to ask to be crucified with Jesus Christ, a request that was soon granted.
During a supernatural manifestation that took place on Good Friday 1697, she saw five lightning bolts emerge from Our Lord’s divine wounds, which turned into small flames. Four of them contained nails, which pierced her hands and feet, and the other a golden spear, which pierced her heart. “I felt great pain, but in the midst of that pain, I saw and felt myself completely transformed in God,”11 Veronica later explained.
Having been informed of these phenomena, Bishop Eustachi once again wanted to verify the truth of the facts. To this end, he appointed the Jesuit priest John Maria Crivelli as the convent’s extraordinary confessor for two months, with permission to subject Veronica to various tests.
After hearing the nun’s general Confession and the detailed account of all the gifts she had received, the priest instructed her to pray and entreat Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin to reveal to her everything that he, Fr. Crivelli, would order by means of interior acts, without moving his lips or making the least gesture.
The priest’s requests were: that the wound on her side should open and gush blood; that the same wound should remain open for the time he determined; that in his presence it should close when indicated; that Veronica should suffer the torments of the Passion in front of him, at a time of his choosing; and that she should also suffer the crucifixion in his presence and while standing, and not on the bed, as was usually the case.
After formulating these requests mentally, Fr. Crivelli asked Veronica what Jesus and Mary Most Holy had told her, and she listed the five petitions perfectly. On subsequent days, according to the Jesuit’s instructions, everything was fulfilled to the letter.
Exchange of hearts
Veronica understood the sublimity of the God-Man’s sufferings and united herself to them with true compassion. She knew how to draw immediate consequences from everything that happened to her in the supernatural realm and apply it to her daily life, so as to conform her thoughts and actions to Our Lord’s wishes. One of her most striking mystical experiences demonstrates this.
One day Our Lord appeared to her and removed her heart from her chest. Holding it in His divine hands, He asked, “Tell me, whose heart is this?” Without hesitating, Veronica immediately replied: “It is Thine, Lord.” The Redeemer asked her the same question again, but this time the heart answered along with her that it belonged to Him. Repeating the question a third time, Jesus opened His sacrosanct side and inserted the nun’s heart into His own Sacred Heart, making her feel aflame with love. When He withdrew it from this divine tabernacle, Veronica’s heart was covered in wounds, pierced right through and covered with carvings, as it were, of the instruments of the Passion.
Thus indelibly engraved with the stigmata of the Lord’s infinite love, her heart was restored to her.
The Blessed Virgin then covered her with a white garment and the Divine Master gave her the ring of espousals, asking her to pronounce the words of her religious profession. Upon hearing the promise of the vows, Jesus assured her of eternal life, provided she fulfilled everything she was promising at that moment. This magnificent ceremony was crowned by a series of revelations and heavenly communications that she could never recount…
Signs engraved on her heart
Out of obedience, Veronica drew the symbols that had been engraved on her heart. To do this, she asked two religious sisters to help her, without telling them what it was about, as she had no artistic skills.
Exact copy of the Saint’s drawing of the symbols engraved in her heart
Twenty-four signs were placed on red paper cut into the shape of a heart, including a cross with the letters C, F, V and O engraved on it. The interpretation of the letters was revealed by her: charity, faith and fidelity to God, humility and God’s will, and obedience.
There was also a crown of thorns and a flag on a pole that traversed the cross, which she said was the sign of victory. At the top of the flag was the letter J for the name of Jesus, and below it the letter M, for Mary Most Holy.
The signs also included two flames, representing love of God and neighbour, as well as the symbols of Jesus’ Passion: a hammer, tongs, a reed, a sponge, a garment – signifying Our Lord’s seamless tunic – a chalice, two wounds, a pillar, three nails, a scourge and seven swords – indicating Our Lady’s sorrows. Three other letters appeared on the heart: P, P and V, for suffering, patience and God’s will.
End of her calvary
Her earthly journey was finally coming to an end. After Communion, Veronica suffered an apoplectic seizure that caused her to lose all movement in her left side, but without impairing her consciousness and speech. As the days went by, her condition worsened with fevers, pains and malaise. After an agonizing thirty-three days, she died on July 9, 1727.
Two and a half months after her death, by order of the Diocesan Bishop, some surgeons, accompanied by ecclesiastical authorities, carried out an autopsy on her heart and were able to confirm the existence of the figures engraved on it.
Recumbent statue of the Saint, containing her relics – Monastery of St. Veronica Giuliani, Città di Castello (Italy)
As we follow her life, the words of the Apostle come to mind: “in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col 1:24).
Accepting the trials that Providence asked of her, St. Veronica Giuliani allowed the Cross of Our Lord to transform her, uniting her to the Redeemer. In this way, she reached her longed-for goal, eternal happiness in Heaven. ◊
Notes
1 The hagiographic details contained in this article were taken from: SALVATORI, Filippo Maria. Santa Verônica Giuliani. Campinas: Ecclesiae, 2017.
2 Idem, p.25.
3 Idem, p.29.
4 Idem, p.28.
5 Idem, p.32.
6 Idem, p.50.
7 Idem, p.67.
8 Idem, p.72.
9 Idem, p.84.
10 Idem, p.96.
11 Idem, p.130.
