An empty convent led to order
Verona saint helped those in need, especially women, girls
By Tony Staley
Compass Editor
Problems stemming from childhood petrify some people, locking them into a state of blame and excuse-making on why they haven't led a better life. Others rise above their past and perhaps even lead exemplary lives of service to others.
The latter describes Magdalen of Canossa, who in the early 1800s founded the Canossian Daughters of Charity in Verona, Italy, the city of her birth. She was a descendant of Matilda, Countess of Tuscany, who had a castle at Canossa where Henry IV of Germany stood in the snow to submit to the authority of Pope St. Gregory VII during the winter of 1076-77.
When Magdalen was five, her father died. Two years later, her mother remarried, leaving Magdalen and three other children in the care of uncles. As if the loss of her parents wasn't enough, a French governess treated Magdalen harshly.
In 1791, after a painful illness, Magdalen entered the Carmelites, but soon returned home. While in Venice, where the family had fled during the Napoleonic wars, Magdalen had a dream of Mary surrounded by six nuns dressed in brown. Mary told the sisters to work with poor and sick women and girls.
After the family returned to Verona, Napoleon visited the family. Magdalen asked him for an empty convent where she could care for children and the poor, which she and some other women had already been doing. He granted permission and they opened their house for poor girls on May 8, 1808.
Soon, Magdalen was invited to bring her "Canossians" to Venice. She also started houses in Milan, Bergamo, Trent and throughout northern Italy. She wrote rules for her order - the Daughters of Charity - to which Pope Pius VII gave preliminary approval in 1816. Pope Leo XII gave the rule his formal approval in 1828.
To help those in need, Magdalen opened colleges and high schools that included special provisions for the deaf. She also organized retreats for women and girls and founded a congregation of men to carry on similar work with boys.
Magdalen was known for a strong prayer life. It is reported that at least once she was lifted off the ground during her meditations.
In her last years, Magdalen was bent nearly double and could sleep only while sitting. In late 1834, she became seriously ill and returned to the order's motherhouse. By Holy Week, she knew she was dying and asked for the last rites and died soon after.
Magdalen was declared blessed by Pope Pius XII on Dec. 7, 1941. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II.
(Source: Butler's Lives of the Saints)
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