St. Maria De Mattias

Ø  Foundress of the Congregation of   the Sisters Adorers of the Most Precious Blood
Born	On 4th  February 1805 at Valleccorsa, Frosinone, Papal States (modern Italy)
Died	20 August 1866 of natural causes ,  buried in the Verano cemetery, Rome  relics venerated in Rome at the Church of the Precious Blood
Beatified	1 October 1950 by Venerable Pope Pius XII
Canonized	18 May 2003 by Pope John Paul II at Vatican Basilica
Feast	4th  February

Maria de Mattias was born and baptized on February 4, 1805 in Vallecorsa, a small village in the mountains of central Italy .Born to a pious and educated upper class family. Though women of her day were forbidden a formal education, she learned to read and write, and much about her faith at home from her father. Being an upper class girl of the time, she grew up isolated and self-involved, but in her mid-teens she felt the hollowness of her life, and began to search for more meaning. She prayed for enlightment and received a mystical vision that led her to leave home and wander the roads, explaining the love of God to any who would listen.    At age 17 she attended a mission preached by Saint Gaspare de Bufalo, and saw the obvious changes to people who attended. She wanted to have the same effect, and with the aid of Venerable Giovanni Merlini she founded the Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Acuto, Italy on 4 March 1834, a woman's congregation for teaching girls. She expanded their work to teaching and catechizing women and boys. Though, due to the social mores of the time she was not allowed to speak to men, they would often gather on their own, sometimes in hiding, to listen to her teaching. Pope Pius IX assigned her to running the San Luigi Hospice in Rome, and from there she worked to expand the Adorers.   Maria De Mattias life was one lived with the one desire of “giving pleasure to Jesus” who had stolen her heart in her youth, and in a joyful commitment to save “the dear neighbor” from ignorance regarding the mystery of God’s love for humanity. All of this led her not to spare her energies; she did not give up when faced with disappointments or difficulties; she always worked in deep communion with the local and universal Church, and for love of Her.   Maria De Mattias died at Rome on 20 August 1866 and was buried in Rome’s Verano Cemetery, according to the desire of Pope Pius IX, who chose a tomb for her and commissioned a bas-relief on it depicting the vision of Ezechiel: “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord”.   Her reputation for holiness remained alive after her death. The process for her beatification began thirty years later, culminating in that blessed event 1 October 1950, when Pius XII pronounced her “Blessed.” Canonized by  Pope John Paul II on 18 May 2003.