Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Leonella Sgorbati

The Basics: Born December 9, 1940, in Italy; died September 17, 2006, in Somalia; beatified May 26, 2018; feast day, September 17. Woman religious, nurse. The Story: Leonella Sgorbati was doing what she loved when she died a martyr’s death. Born in Italy, Leonella knew at sixteen she wanted to be a woman religious, but at her… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Leonella Sgorbati

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Clara Fey

The Basics: Born April 11, 1815, in Germany; died May 8, 1894, in the Netherlands; beatified May 5, 2018; feast day, May 8. Woman religious, social worker. The Story: Having more than others–economically or mentally–generally results in one of two attitudes: complacency and superiority, or humility. Clara’s story is one of the latter. Her father was a… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Clara Fey

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth

The Basics: Born about 1200 in Belgium; died August 29, 1268, in Belgium; feast day, July 29; woman religious, mystic, writer. The Story: She’s a writer–and beatified woman religious–you may have never heard of if you live outside Belgium. And that’s a pity, because Beatrice’s Seven Ways of Divine Love is a wonderful read. Born into a wealthy family,… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth

Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Ida of Leuven

The Basics: Born about 1219 in Belgium; died about 1290 in Belgium; beatified in 1719 by Clement XI; feast day, April 13; woman religious, mystic. The Story: You might say Ida always marched to her own drummer, who was the Lord. Born into a wealthy family, she loved to spend her time as a child praying the… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Ida of Leuven