Up to 1693, at age 33, Veronica’s life followed the virtuous path described earlier, marked by her roles in the Capuchin monastery of Città di Castello. The final 35 years of her life, however, revealed a profound transformation, described as “the life of Veronica hidden in Christ, or the life of Christ in Veronica.” She became a living reflection of Christ’s Passion, fastened to His cross through extraordinary supernatural gifts. These accounts, drawn from her writings and canonization records, are supported by the heroic virtues they produced, dispelling any notion of delusion.
In 1693, God initiated a deeper union with Veronica through a vision of a mysterious chalice, symbolizing the Passion she would reenact in her own person. This vision recurred over years with variations: sometimes radiant on a bright cloud, other times plain; its contents bubbling, boiling over, or dripping. Her soul eagerly desired to drink it, but her human nature recoiled, mirroring Christ’s agony in Gethsemane. To subdue this resistance, Veronica undertook severe penances, eventually overcoming her flesh’s aversion. She wrote, “I have always found my soul ready, and even anxiously desirous, to share in that bitter draught,” expressing her thirst for suffering with, “Sitio—I thirst—not for consolation, but for afflictions.”
One night, in rapt prayer, Jesus appeared with the chalice, saying, “This is for thee... Prepare thyself, for in due season thou shalt partake of it.” The chalice remained imprinted on her mind, accompanied by a forewarning of intense sufferings from demons, human contempt, and divine desolation. Veronica willingly offered herself as a sacrifice.
The Blessed Virgin and saints bolstered her courage. On the feast of the Assumption, Mary, alongside Jesus on a glorious throne, presented the chalice, saying, “My daughter, I make thee this present in the Name of my Son,” with Saints Catherine of Siena and Rose of Lima urging acceptance. On Saint Augustine’s feast, the saint presented a boiling chalice, its contents caught by angels in golden vessels, symbolizing the preciousness of her sufferings for God. In another vision, overwhelmed by anguish, Veronica prostrated before the Blessed Sacrament and saw Jesus scourged and bloodied, holding the chalice, saying, “Behold these Wounds... inviting thee to drink of this bitter chalice.” This left her refreshed, peaceful, and eager to fulfill God’s Will.
The chalice’s contents manifested as intense trials. Veronica suffered daily fevers, preventing eating or drinking for eight days, and felt consumed by a fiery thirst when the chalice’s liquid seemed poured over her. Her food, tainted by its bitter drops, became unpalatable. The liquid sometimes transformed into swords, spears, and arrows, piercing her body and heart. Medical treatments prescribed by her superior, unaware of the supernatural cause, caused torment; each of three remedies was violently rejected, nearly killing her, yet she obeyed without complaint, echoing, “Sitio, I thirst.”
Demons intensified her trials. One night, they immersed her in an icy bath for two hours, leaving her senseless; infirmarians took four hours to revive her, increasing her suffering. They appeared as young men to tempt her innocence, as terrifying spectres, or misrepresented religious life as hellish, binding her with chains and striking her, claiming, “Thou art ours!” Veronica defied them, inviting further torment: “The more you harass me, the better shall I be pleased. Blessed be the cross!” Her courage frustrated their efforts.
The most excruciating trial was God’s apparent withdrawal, leaving her in spiritual darkness and desolation. She wrote, “All my other trials were nothing, compared with that which I suffered interiorly—forsaken, abandoned, and environed with thick darkness... Oh, what intolerable anguish!” Despite feeling banished from God, unable to pray or sense His presence, His grace sustained her. The chalice’s constant nearness was her sole comfort, strengthening her to reject demonic temptations and declare, “Blessed be God! Everything seems little that is endured for His love.”
In 1694, at age 34, Veronica’s preparation through visions of the mysterious chalice culminated in her sharing in Christ’s Passion, beginning with His crowning with thorns, a rare privilege reserved for God’s dearest saints. On April 4, during prayer, she experienced an intellectual vision where Jesus, adorned with the insignia of His Passion, appeared with a crown of thorns. She wrote, “My divine Spouse, give me those thorns: they are fit for me, and not for Thee.” Jesus responded, “I am come to crown thee now, My beloved,” placing the crown on her head. The pain was excruciating, surpassing any she had known, yet she recognized it as a sign of her role as the spouse of the Crucified, destined to share His sufferings.
Upon regaining consciousness, Veronica’s head was swollen and racked with pain, rendering her nearly incapacitated. She prayed, “I implore this boon of Thee, my God; if it be Thy Will, grant me sufficient strength to go through all my labours and duties, and permit these graces to be kept secret.” Her strength returned instantly, allowing her to fulfill her duties despite persistent agony, intensified when bowing her head. She embraced this suffering, saying, “Let me bear all for the love of God: everything seems little or nothing that is endured for His love.”
The crowning recurred in subsequent visions, often during prayer with a desire for suffering. The thorns’ piercing caused her to collapse, unconscious, for extended periods, revealing the intensity of Christ’s own torment. In ecstasy, she understood the preciousness of suffering, each wound urging her to seek more. Jesus frequently affirmed her as His beloved, pressing the crown deeper, intensifying her longing for suffering. She wrote, “The Passion of my Redeemer was so deeply engraven on my heart that I frequently fainted away for anguish.”
Her zeal for sinners’ conversion amplified her trials. Offering Christ’s and Mary’s merits for sinners, she felt renewed agony throughout her head, rejoicing amidst “a thousand torments.” She noted that Lent would be a period of perpetual suffering, yet declared, “Blessed be the Cross! Blessed be suffering! I wish for nothing but the Will of God.”
The pain from the crown persisted for the remaining 34–35 years of her life, intensifying on Fridays, during carnival, Lent, and especially Holy Week. Despite physical weakness, supernatural strength enabled her to perform her duties. Sister Florida Ceoli, tasked by Veronica’s directors, observed her brow encircled with red, marked by pimple-like swellings or purple thorn-like marks, sometimes extending to her eyes, with one causing tears of blood, as evidenced by her stained veil. These signs, corroborated by other nuns in the canonization process, confirmed the supernatural nature of her suffering.
Bishop Luc’Antonio Eustachi, cautious to ensure the divine origin of these phenomena, ordered medical intervention. Veronica obeyed, concealing the supernatural cause. Anointing her head with oil caused burning pain, while her brain felt icy. Doctors applied hot irons to her head and leg, marveling at her statue-like stillness during the procedure. Closing the head wound increased her pain, preventing speech or rest, so a hot iron was applied to her neck, causing nerve irritation and sleeplessness. A seton in her neck, a painful procedure involving a heated needle and cotton knot, was applied by Veronica herself when nuns hesitated, yet she endured it calmly, lamenting only its brevity. Further setons in her ears and cauterization of her arm caused convulsions and swelling, proving ineffective. The physicians admitted defeat, acknowledging their remedies worsened her condition, convincing the bishop and confessors of God’s hand in her trials.
Veronica’s intimate union with God, described as heavenly espousals, reflects the biblical imagery of the Canticles, where the soul and Christ are depicted as bride and bridegroom. This mystical union, marked by perfect love, was initiated through divine visions preparing her for a profound spiritual marriage. On the feast of the Annunciation, two days before her espousals, the Blessed Virgin appeared in an intellectual vision on a magnificent throne, flanked by Saints Catherine of Siena and Rose of Lima. They petitioned Mary to secure Veronica’s betrothal to Christ. Mary, holding a beautiful ring, announced it would soon be Veronica’s, urging her to prepare by practicing heroic virtues—humility, charity, and self-knowledge—which Mary bestowed interiorly. Veronica wrote, “Since that day I have lived as it were out of myself, and have always had an intimate sense of the presence of God.”
On an unspecified date, Veronica, in prayer, saw Christ with His Passion’s wounds radiant like gems. In His side was a lovely jewel, which He revealed was formed from her sufferings over two days, each act of resignation enhancing His wounds’ beauty. He said, “Every time that thou didst repeat the declaration that thou hadst no other will but Mine… thou didst give beauty to My holy Wounds.” This vision ignited her desire for suffering, prompting her to offer herself as a victim on Christ’s cross. Christ’s divine kiss raised her to rapture, uniting her soul to God in an unprecedented manner, confirming her betrothal and teaching her the value of crosses and humiliations in divine love.
By Holy Saturday, April 10, after a Lent of severe austerities, Christ appeared in glory, inviting Veronica to His nuptials on Easter Sunday and showing her the marriage ring. He prescribed a new rule of life: greater austerities, silence, fervent work, pure intentions, denial of natural inclinations, and love for the cross. That night, in prayer, she felt loving invitations from Christ, “Come to Me, My beloved,” purging her heart of earthly attachments and imperfections. Christ declared, “I am come here now to prepare it, and to garnish it for Myself… I wish to occupy it all alone.” Two further visions showed Christ adorning her heart with His merits as her dowry, preparing her for the solemnity.
On Easter Sunday, during Communion, Veronica heard angels sing, “Veni sponsa Christi” (“Come, spouse of Christ”). In a rapture, she saw two thrones: one gold, where Christ sat with radiant wounds, and one alabaster, occupied by Mary. The heavenly court, including Saints Catherine and Rose, attended. Catherine instructed Veronica, and both saints adorned her with gorgeous robes over her religious habit, culminating in an embroidered white robe. Before Christ’s throne, Veronica blushed, enlightened about the dignity of her religious habit, which deepened her devotion to its observances. Mary presented a magnificent, multi-hued robe, and Christ placed a resplendent gold ring, enameled with His Name, on her finger, blessed by Him and Mary. Heavenly choirs sang, “Accipe coronam, quam tibi Dominus præparavit in æternum” (“Receive the crown, which the Lord has prepared for thee for all eternity”). Christ prescribed rules for perfection: total obedience, death to self-will, heroic virtues, strict abstinence, and rigorous penances, promising to be entirely hers.
The nuptial ring remained on Veronica’s finger, felt most intensely during Communion, renewing her espousals. Sister Mary Spanaciani testified seeing it as a red, pea-sized stone on her ring-finger, inspiring awe, though it vanished hours later. Veronica described two rings from her espousals and renewals: one of love and one of the cross. In 1697, during an Easter renewal, Christ gave a third ring with three gems: one with two united hearts (symbolizing their union), one with a cross (her dowry), and one with Passion instruments (a reminder of His sufferings). Christ confirmed her as His spouse through His wounds, saying, “These Wounds I leave thee as a pledge… rest on My Will, for I am thine.”
The solemnities of Veronica’s heavenly espousals, celebrated on Easter Sunday, extended into Easter Monday and Tuesday, marked by extraordinary divine favors. These events, detailed in her writings, reflect her deepening union with Christ and her fervent response through prayer and mortification, as recorded in her canonization process.
On Easter Monday, during Communion, Jesus appeared to Veronica, presenting all the merits of His mortal life and Passion, granting her authority to distribute them. Overwhelmed by her unworthiness, she wrote, “It seemed to me that it was an office ill-suited for me to distribute these treasures.” She entrusted them back to Christ, praying, “I pray Thee to distribute them… especially among those who love Thee from their heart.” She interceded for her director, priests, confessors, and her convent, asking that these graces foster perfect observance in her Capuchin community. Her prayers bore fruit, as the convent, already esteemed when she entered, became renowned as a “community of saints” under her influence, with several sisters, including Mary Teresa Vallemanni, Mary Constance Spanaciani, and Florida Ceoli, noted for their sanctity. The process for Ceoli’s canonization began but was halted due to financial constraints.
Later that day, Veronica heard Christ’s voice, “My beloved, I am waiting for thee to present Me with a jewel,” prompting her to offer a rare mortification. She heated a brass hour-glass case engraved with Jesus’ Name and imprinted it on her breast as a token of fidelity, enduring further austerities until Christ declared, “This is sufficient for Me.” These acts, undertaken for God’s glory, aimed to subdue the flesh, aligning her spirit with divine union, as God values the eternal benefits of such sacrifices over the pain itself.
On Easter Tuesday, during Communion, Veronica entered an ecstasy where Christ approached her lovingly, saying, “I am thy peace: I am Who am. Behold Me, tell Me what thou wouldst have.” She replied, “Nothing but Thyself, my divine Spouse.” Christ embraced her soul, igniting indescribable joy. She described Communion as her heart opening like a door to receive Christ, closing to enclose Him alone, producing “exultations which His presence produced.” She compared worldly joys to nothing beside this divine union, where love caused her heart to “dance and leap for joy, to sing and to be silent… to work afresh for its God.” The Eucharist became “the palace and sanctuary of love,” enlarging her heart to house the Trinity, accompanied by heavenly melodies and a zeal to praise God.
Even amidst these delights, Veronica’s greatest satisfaction lay in “pure suffering,” seeing her cross adorned with “flowers of unrivalled loveliness” that inspired a desire for more suffering as fruit. This preference for suffering over sweetness, rooted in love for Christ, confirmed the divine authenticity of her experiences.
Veronica’s prayers for her convent’s sanctity, amplified by Christ’s merits, elevated its spiritual stature. Sisters like Mary Magdalen Boscaini and Mary Anne Piazzini, alongside novices trained by Veronica, exemplified heroic virtue. The convent’s reputation persisted, with later members reflecting her spirit, as attested by their director.
Following her mystical espousals in 1694, Veronica received a divine command from Jesus on March 26, 1695, to undertake a strict three-year fast on bread and water, intensifying her already remarkable mortification. This directive, recorded in her writings, aimed to detach her from earthly attachments and unite her more closely with Christ. Despite her habitual asceticism, which astonished her fellow nuns, this new fast represented a significant escalation in her spiritual discipline.
Veronica, obedient to her confessors and superiors, sought their permission to follow this divine injunction. However, God tested her obedience by orchestrating their unanimous refusal, a trial to demonstrate reliance on His representatives. She submitted without resistance, though it caused her great distress. Any food other than dry bread was immediately rejected by her body, tasting like “the bitterest wormwood” and causing internal bleeding. Even the small amount of bread she took to avoid fainting was forbidden, intensifying her suffering. She wrote, “Every time that I sat down to table, I had to undergo a new martyrdom,” yet she remained steadfast, saying, “I offered Him my obedience and the suffering which my food occasioned me.”
Her superiors, including Bishop Luc’Antonio Eustachi, were aware of her condition but maintained their prohibition. Veronica’s nature rebelled against this denial, yet she adhered strictly to their commands, finding solace in the spiritual strength derived from obedience. She responded to divine reproaches for not fasting by saying, “Lord, I promise to do it; but I am certain that Thou desirest that I should obey… do Thou therefore dispose them whose duty it is to give me the required permission.” This conflict persisted from March 26 to September 8, 1695, with Veronica often going days without nourishment, her desire for suffering growing stronger.
Exhausted by her trials, Veronica experienced a unique divine favor on June 2, 1695, akin to those granted to Saints Lidwine and Gertrude of Oost. In a rapture, Jesus instructed her to sustain herself with five drops of a liquid from her left breast, pending her confessor’s approval. Hesitant due to humility, she delayed disclosing this to Father Carlo Antonio Tassinari, her extraordinary confessor, enduring divine rebukes until she overcame her reluctance. Initially, Tassinari, with Bishop Eustachi’s counsel, forbade tasting the liquid, ordering her to continue ordinary food, which she couldn’t retain. Eventually, he permitted the five drops after failed attempts at eating, resulting in immediate strength and invigoration. The liquid, milk-like with a fragrant odor, filled rooms with its scent and worked miracles when given to the sick, as attested by Sisters Florida Ceoli, Mary Magdalen Boscaini, and lay sister Giacinta. Veronica sustained herself on this for five years, alongside bread and water.
The devil fiercely opposed Veronica’s fast, tempting her with delicacies in the refectory or her cell at night, which she rejected by making the sign of the cross, causing them to vanish with a foul odor that made her faint. Satan also impersonated her, eating greedily in the kitchen or dispensary to scandalize the nuns, especially before Communion, suggesting hypocrisy. God intervened, revealing the deception when nuns found the false Veronica eating but discovered the real Veronica in prayer in the choir, preserving her reputation.
Veronica’s human nature recoiled at the prolonged bread-and-water fast, a challenge she met with magnanimity. She humorously personified her “Self” as a rebellious entity craving food, particularly during carnival when the abbess allowed extra provisions. She disciplined Self by lying face-down to “eat dust” or threatening public confession of cravings, three days without water, or vocalizing complaints to companions. By September 30, 1696, after a year, she noted, “I find the matter as great a privation to my natural appetite as I did the first day,” yet persisted with new mortifications to subdue Self.
Her confessor suggested holding a decayed fish to her lips to quell cravings, a penance she embraced despite Self’s protests: “The person who thought of such a penance ought first to try the experiment himself.” This discipline, kept at hand, effectively silenced her appetite, and she blessed her confessor for the lesson.
Veronica maintained the bread-and-water fast for three years, as permitted, and for two additional years lived on altar bread, orange pippins, and the miraculous liquid. Her entire religious life was a “perpetual fast,” reflecting her heroic virtue. The Congregation of Rites in 1796, under Pius VI, unanimously approved these gifts as free from fallacy, supported by treatises from 1786 and 1796, affirming their divine origin and consistency with sanctity.
6. Veronica's Heavenly Espousals
The Divine Betrothal
Veronica’s mystical union with God, described as heavenly espousals, mirrors the imagery of the Canticles, portraying the soul and Christ as bride and bridegroom. This profound spiritual marriage, rooted in perfect love, was initiated through divine visions preparing her for an intimate bond with Christ. On the feast of the Annunciation, two days before her espousals, the Blessed Virgin appeared in an intellectual vision on a magnificent throne, accompanied by Saints Catherine of Siena and Rose of Lima. They petitioned Mary to secure Veronica’s betrothal to Christ. Holding a beautiful ring, Mary announced it would soon be Veronica’s, urging her to emulate the saints in heroic virtues—humility, charity, and self-knowledge—which Mary imparted interiorly. Veronica wrote, “Since that day I have lived as it were out of myself, and have always had an intimate sense of the presence of God.”
Vision of the Passion’s Jewel
In a vision, Veronica saw Christ with His Passion’s wounds radiant like gems, a lovely jewel in His side. He revealed it was formed from her sufferings over two days, each act of resignation enhancing His wounds’ beauty, saying, “Every time that thou didst repeat the declaration that thou hadst no other will but Mine… thou didst give beauty to My holy Wounds.” This ignited her desire for suffering, prompting her to offer herself as a victim on Christ’s cross. His divine kiss raised her to rapture, uniting her soul to God uniquely, affirming her betrothal and revealing the value of crosses and humiliations in divine love.
Preparation for the Espousals
On Holy Saturday, April 10, after a Lent of severe austerities, Christ appeared in glory, inviting her to His nuptials on Easter Sunday and showing the marriage ring. He prescribed a new rule: intensified austerities, silence, fervent work, pure intentions, denial of natural inclinations, and love for the cross as a shield. That night, in prayer, Christ’s invitation, “Come to Me, My beloved,” purged her heart of earthly attachments, with Him declaring, “I wish to occupy it all alone.” Two further visions showed Christ adorning her heart with His merits as her dowry.
The Espousal Ceremony
On Easter Sunday, during Communion, angels sang, “Veni sponsa Christi” (“Come, spouse of Christ”). In rapture, Veronica saw two thrones: Christ’s golden throne, His wounds outshining the sun, and Mary’s alabaster throne. With the heavenly court, including Catherine and Rose, attending, the saints adorned her with precious robes over her religious habit, culminating in an embroidered white robe. Before Christ’s throne, she realized the dignity of her religious habit, deepening her devotion. Mary presented a multi-hued robe, and Christ placed a gold ring, enameled with His Name, on her finger, blessed by both. Heavenly choirs sang, “Accipe coronam, quam tibi Dominus præparavit in æternum” (“Receive the crown, which the Lord has prepared for thee for all eternity”). Christ prescribed rules for perfection: total obedience, death to self-will, heroic virtues, strict abstinence, and rigorous penances.
The Mystical Rings
The ring remained on Veronica’s finger, felt most intensely during Communion, renewing her espousals. Sister Mary Spanaciani testified seeing a red, pea-sized stone on her ring-finger, inspiring awe, though it later vanished. Veronica described two rings: one of love and one of the cross. In 1697, during an Easter renewal, Christ gave a third ring with three gems—two united hearts (their union), a cross (her dowry), and Passion instruments (His sufferings). Christ confirmed her as His spouse through His wounds, saying, “These Wounds I leave thee as a pledge… rest on My Will, for I am thine,” referencing her stigmata received that year.
7. Veronica's Post-Espousal Graces and Response
Continuation of Heavenly Espousals
The mystical espousals of Veronica with Christ, celebrated on Easter Sunday, extended into Easter Monday and Tuesday with extraordinary divine favors, as recorded in her writings and canonization process. These events deepened her union with Christ, and her response through prayer and mortification underscored her sanctity.
Easter Monday: Access to Christ’s Treasury
During Communion on Easter Monday, Jesus appeared to Veronica, presenting the merits of His mortal life and Passion, granting her authority to distribute them. Feeling unworthy, she wrote, “It seemed to me that it was an office ill-suited for me to distribute these treasures.” With deep faith, she entrusted them back to Christ, praying, “I pray Thee to distribute them… especially among those who love Thee from their heart.” She interceded for her director, priests, confessors, and her Capuchin convent, requesting that these graces foster perfect observance. Her prayers elevated the convent’s sanctity, transforming it into a “community of saints” with virtuous members like Mary Teresa Vallemanni, Mary Constance Spanaciani, Florida Ceoli, and others, some of whom have biographies in the Capuchin annals. Sister Florida Ceoli’s canonization process began but stalled due to financial issues, and her documented prediction of a priest becoming an Oratorian confirmed her spiritual insight.
Later that day, Christ’s voice urged, “My beloved, I am waiting for thee to present Me with a jewel,” prompting a rare mortification. Veronica heated a brass hour-glass case engraved with Jesus’ Name and imprinted it on her breast as a token of fidelity, continuing with further austerities until Christ said, “This is sufficient for Me.” This act, aimed at subduing the flesh for eternal glory, reflects God’s delight not in suffering but in its spiritual benefits, as exemplified by Christ, the Man of Sorrows.
Easter Tuesday: Ecstatic Eucharistic Union
On Easter Tuesday, during Communion, Veronica entered an ecstasy where Christ said, “I am thy peace: I am Who am. Behold Me, tell Me what thou wouldst have.” She replied, “Nothing but Thyself, my divine Spouse.” His embrace filled her with indescribable joy, described as her heart opening to receive Christ, closing to enclose Him alone, producing “exultations which His presence produced.” She deemed worldly joys insignificant compared to this divine union, where love made her heart “dance and leap for joy, to sing and to be silent… to work afresh for its God.” The Eucharist, the “palace and sanctuary of love,” enlarged her heart to house the Trinity, accompanied by heavenly melodies. Her zeal to praise God intensified, yet she found greatest satisfaction in “pure suffering,” seeing her cross adorned with “flowers of unrivalled loveliness,” desiring more suffering as its fruit, a sign of God’s Spirit.
Impact on the Convent
Veronica’s prayers, empowered by Christ’s merits, enhanced her convent’s sanctity, with novices and sisters like Mary Magdalen Boscaini and Mary Anne Piazzini exemplifying heroic virtue. The convent’s enduring spiritual legacy, as attested by its director, reflects Veronica’s influence.
8. Veronica's Rigorous Fasting and Trials
Divine Command to Fast
On March 26, 1695, a year after her mystical espousals, Veronica received a divine command from Jesus to undertake a three-year fast on bread and water, intensifying her already extraordinary mortification, which amazed her fellow Capuchin nuns. This directive, recorded in her writings, aimed to detach her from earthly desires and deepen her union with Christ.
Opposition from Superiors
Obedient to her confessors and superiors, Veronica sought permission to follow this divine order, but God tested her by prompting their unanimous refusal, emphasizing reliance on His representatives. She complied without resistance, though it was painful; any food except dry bread was rejected by her body, tasting like “bitterest wormwood” and causing internal bleeding. Even the small amount of bread she took to avoid fainting was forbidden, intensifying her suffering. She wrote, “Every time that I sat down to table, I had to undergo a new martyrdom,” yet remained steadfast, offering her obedience and suffering to God. Despite divine reproaches for not fasting, she responded, “Lord, I promise to do it; but I am certain that Thou desirest that I should obey,” trusting God to sway her superiors. This conflict lasted from March 26 to September 8, 1695, often leaving her without nourishment for days.
Supernatural Sustenance
Exhausted, Veronica received a rare divine favor on June 2, 1695, similar to that of Saints Lidwine and Gertrude of Oost. In a rapture, Jesus instructed her to sustain herself with five drops of a liquid from her left breast, pending her confessor’s approval. Hesitant due to humility, she delayed disclosing this to Father Carlo Antonio Tassinari, enduring divine rebukes until she overcame her reluctance. Initially, Tassinari, with Bishop Eustachi’s counsel, forbade the liquid, insisting on ordinary food, which she couldn’t retain. Eventually, he permitted the five drops, resulting in immediate strength. The milk-like liquid, with a fragrant odor, filled rooms and worked miracles for the sick, as attested by Sisters Florida Ceoli, Mary Magdalen Boscaini, and lay sister Giacinta. Veronica relied on this for five years alongside her fast.
Demonic Opposition
The devil tempted Veronica with delicacies in the refectory or her cell, which she rejected with the sign of the cross, causing them to vanish with a foul odor that made her faint. Satan also impersonated her, eating greedily to scandalize the nuns, especially before Communion, to paint her as a hypocrite. God revealed the deception when nuns found the false Veronica eating but discovered the real Veronica in prayer, preserving her reputation.
Personal Struggles and Mortifications
Veronica’s human nature recoiled at the prolonged fast, yet she met it with magnanimity, humorously personifying her “Self” as a rebellious entity craving food. During carnival, when the abbess allowed extra provisions, she disciplined Self with penances like lying face-down to “eat dust” or threatening public confession of cravings, three days without water, or vocalizing complaints. By September 30, 1696, she noted the fast remained a “great privation,” yet imposed new mortifications. Her confessor’s suggestion to hold a decayed fish to her lips quelled cravings, despite Self’s protests, which she embraced, blessing her confessor.
Duration and Legacy
Veronica maintained the bread-and-water fast for three years, followed by two years on altar bread, orange pippins, and the miraculous liquid. Her life was a “perpetual fast,” reflecting heroic virtue. The Congregation of Rites in 1796, under Pius VI, approved these gifts as free from fallacy, supported by treatises from 1786 and 1796, affirming their divine origin.
9. Veronica’s Stigmatization and Divine Resemblance
Divine Love and Resemblance
The profound love between Veronica and Christ, likened to that of lovers, fostered a resemblance not only in heart and will, but also in body through the sacred stigmata. Divine love, surpassing human frailty, transforms the soul to mirror Christ’s virtues, as seen in saints like Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena, who bore His wounds. Veronica, through her mystical espousals and fidelity, merited this rare privilege, joining a select group of thirty-five stigmatic, as noted by Peter of Alva in Prodigium Naturae, portentum Gratiae.
Prelude to Stigmatization
Veronica’s heart was prepared by a wound of love on Christmas 1696, followed by another in 1697. On March 29, 1697, she experienced a vision of the crucified Christ, revealing her “nothingness” and igniting a desire for suffering. Jesus asked, “Art thou willing that I should wound thee?” She responded with silent resignation, “Lord, Thou knowest that I wish for nothing but… Thy Will.” A flame-like nail pierced her heart, causing intense pain and ecstasy. Christ promised to “seal my hands and my feet” on Good Friday, April 5, 1697, to transform her into Himself, initially keeping the wounds hidden.
The Stigmatization on Good Friday
On Good Friday, after a night of recollection, Veronica saw Jesus risen with the Virgin Mary and saints. Commanded to confess, she was overwhelmed with contrition, and her guardian angel confessed for her, accusing her sins before Christ’s merciful countenance. Jesus pardoned her, saying, “I forgive thee… through My Blood,” and purified her soul. In a second vision, with the Virgin of Sorrows at the cross, Christ declared, “I am come to make thee like to Myself.” Veronica, aided by Mary’s intercession, expressed her desire to be crucified with Him. Five rays from Christ’s wounds—four nails and a golden lance—pierced her hands, feet, and heart, transforming her into God amidst great suffering. The wounds bled, especially her heart, which she found “wide open, with both blood and water proceeding.”
Verification and Ecclesiastical Scrutiny
The stigmata were examined by her confessors, five nuns, and Bishop Luc’Antonio Eustachi, who conducted rigorous investigations for the Roman Inquisition. Four confessors and the bishop testified to the wounds’ authenticity, supported by juridical depositions in her canonization process. Despite skeptics, Veronica’s humility, contrition, and love for suffering, as expressed in her narrative, affirm divine authenticity. The Inquisition, through Cardinal Cybo’s letters (July 20 to October 5, 1697), concluded investigations, directing silence to prevent public gossip and vanity in Veronica, indirectly affirming her sanctity. In 1716, the Sacred Congregation permitted her election as abbess, with Cardinal Spada noting it would honor God and benefit the convent.
Veronica’s Response
Post-stigmatization, Veronica’s writings reflect increased zeal for suffering and conformity to Christ’s will. On July 12, 1697, Jesus invited her to share His cross, warning of further scrutiny. She prayed fervently for her confessor, sisters, and order, desiring to live as a true religious in Christ’s “school of His Wounds,” inspired by Saints Francis and Clare. Her resolve to be “denuded of self” and crucified with Jesus underscores her transformation.
10. Veronica's Repeated Stigmata and Their Authentication
Initial Stigmatization and Humiliation
After receiving the sacred stigmata on April 5, 1697, Veronica rejoiced in the pain and resemblance to her Crucified Spouse, but her joy was tempered by Bishop Luc’Antonio Eustachi’s order to expose her heart wound for examination. Four virtuous confessors—Father M. Antonio Tassinari (Servites), Father Ubaldo Antonio Capelletti (Oratory), Father Vitale (Reformed Franciscans), and the Dominican Prior—inspected her wounds as she held a lighted candle, a trial that tormented her humility. She confided to Sister Florida Ceoli that only God’s grace prevented her from dying of shame. Ordered to show the wounds to her fellow nuns, she pleaded with Christ to retain the pain but hide the external marks, as with Saint Catherine of Siena, but her request was initially denied.
Description and Renewals of the Stigmata
On June 28, 1697, Christ renewed Veronica’s wounds. The bishop’s report to the Holy Office, corroborated by Sister Florida Ceoli and others, described the hand and foot wounds as round, farthing-sized, red, piercing through when open, and covered with thin scars when closed. The side wound, above her left breast, was four to five fingers long, finger-wide in the middle, narrowing at the ends like a spear thrust, always open, red, frequently bleeding, and emitting a sweet fragrance. On July 12, 1697, during a rapture, Jesus foretold the Holy Office’s investigations, prompting Veronica to beg for the marks’ removal, but Christ insisted they remain to manifest His work, promising their withdrawal after three years. Renewals occurred on January 3, 1699, February 20, 1700, and March 17, 1700, when Christ, appearing wounded and thorn-crowned, intensified her suffering, affirming the three-year duration.
Withdrawal of External Marks
On April 5, 1700, exactly three years after their initial impression, Veronica’s prayer was answered. In a vision, after enduring bodily suffering and temptations, she saw Jesus crucified and, fearing illusion, expressed contempt until He confirmed, “I am not Satan… but Jesus, thy crucified Spouse.” Rays from His wounds pierced her heart, hands, and feet, then withdrew the external scars, leaving smooth skin. The heart wound remained open and bleeding, causing intense pain. Veronica noted, “The scars which had covered the wounds in my hands and feet were loose and separated,” and the heart wound’s severity made her feel near death. Red spots persisted, varying in color, which she concealed with bandages, entreating Christ to remove them. Witnesses later observed these spots turning purplish, then white and smooth like her skin by her death on July 9, 1727, as confirmed post-mortem.
Further Renewals and Testimonies
The stigmata were renewed multiple times, notably on April 6, 1703, and, as Sister Mary Magdalen Boscaini testified, every Friday about three hours before Ave Maria, on major feasts, September 17 (Saint Francis’ stigmata), October 4 (his feast), and when ordered by obedience. On Good Friday, April 19, 1726, Father Raniero Giuseppe Maria Guelfi, testing her obedience, directed her to pray for another renewal. In ecstasy, she received the grace, and Guelfi, with Sisters Florida Ceoli and Mary Magdalen Boscaini, witnessed her bleeding wounds at the Communion window, as deposed in the canonization process.
Supernatural Evidences
The wounds emitted a fragrance that filled the convent, signaling renewals, as Sister Florida Ceoli attested. Bandages applied to them retained this perfume. Medical attempts to heal the wounds caused inflammation, and post-mortem examination by surgeon Gentili revealed the heart wound’s depth made natural survival impossible, indicating a miracle. Veronica’s ability to work and walk despite pierced hands and feet, and the wounds’ scarless healing, further confirmed their supernatural nature.
Resolution of Doubts
Despite overwhelming evidence, Veronica doubted the stigmata’s divine origin until March 29, 1717, when, in an ecstasy, Father Antonio Tommasini, a deceased Jesuit confessor, appeared with the Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Xavier. Mary instructed him to confirm the stigmata’s divine origin, urging Veronica to practice humility, self-annihilation, and exact obedience, assuring her that obedience aligns with God’s will. Veronica’s humility persisted, as she wrote, “These three injunctions… seemed to be engraven on my inmost heart,” and she praised Tommasini’s apostolic zeal, symbolized by a radiant jewel on his breast.
11. Veronica's Participation in Christ's Passion and Heart Imprints
Sharing in Christ’s Passion
Veronica, as Christ’s spouse, was divinely chosen to share fully in the sufferings of His Passion, beyond the stigmata, crown of thorns, and bitter chalice. A notable physical sign was the supernatural curvature of her right shoulder, resembling the effect of carrying a heavy cross. Surgeon Giovan Francesco Gentili, examining her body post-mortem on July 9, 1727, declared this curvature miraculous, as natural deformity would have immobilized her arms. Yet, Veronica freely used her right arm, even during her final illness when an apoplectic stroke paralyzed her left, assisting sick nuns and carrying heavy items.
Father Crivelli’s Investigation
In November 1714, Bishop Luc’Antonio Eustachi, concerned about the divine or diabolical nature of Veronica’s frequent agonies, summoned Jesuit missionary Father Giovan Maria Crivelli from Florence for his expertise in spiritual direction. Appointed extraordinary confessor for two months, Crivelli had Veronica make a general confession and disclose her spiritual gifts. To test their authenticity, he devised five mental precepts, unknowable to the devil, communicated silently to God and the Virgin Mary:
Her side, hand, and foot wounds, then closed, should reopen and bleed.
The wounds should remain open as long as he willed.
They should close upon his command in the presence of witnesses.
She should visibly endure Christ’s Passion sufferings at his chosen time.
After crucifixion on her bed, she should stand upright in the air as commanded.
Veronica, initially unable to discern the precepts, repeated them verbatim after renewed prayer, astonishing Crivelli and indicating divine intervention.
Execution of Precepts
Days later, during Crivelli’s Mass, he ordered Veronica to execute the first precept. She confirmed her side wound had reopened, producing a blood-soaked, fragrant handkerchief. After three weeks, Crivelli and Bishop Eustachi witnessed the open, bleeding wound at the Communion window, which closed instantly upon Crivelli’s command, leaving only slight discoloration. Father Ubaldo Antonio Cappelletti recorded a similar closure on July 31, 1705.
On November 29, 1714, the Vigil of Saint Andrew, Veronica, guided by the Virgin Mary, announced she would endure Christ’s Passion from the third hour of the night for twenty-four hours, ceasing if Crivelli commanded. Found in her cell in extreme exhaustion, she described enduring Christ’s agony in the garden, seizure, and trials before Herod and Pilate, with visible wrist marks from cords. Ordered to undergo the scourging, her body convulsed violently, shaking the bed and cell walls, alarming nuns. After an hour, Crivelli halted the torment, and Veronica instantly regained tranquility. She then attended Mass on her knees, returned to bed, and, under obedience, bore the crown of thorns and cross-carrying, followed by crucifixion, her body extended with strained nerves, sweating, and tearful, mimicking death throes. After thirty minutes, Crivelli stopped it, leaving her exhausted but calm. She also experienced the Virgin’s seven Dolours, her heart palpitating audibly, ceasing instantly upon command. At midnight, she ate supper without nausea, astonishing Crivelli.
In December 1714, Crivelli and Eustachi witnessed Veronica’s fifth precept: crucifixion upright at the Communion window. Her body extended violently, shaking the choir, with bones seemingly dislocating. Commanded to rise higher, she levitated briefly, fell to the pavement still crucified, then resumed her upright position. After thirty minutes, Crivelli ended the torment, and she knelt calmly, explaining her fall as the Jews turning Christ’s cross to clinch the nails.
Imprints on Her Heart
Uniquely, Veronica’s heart bore twenty-four signs, surpassing those of Blessed Clare of Monte Falco and Blessed Margaret of Citta di Castello. On Holy Saturday 1727, under Father Raniero Guelfi’s obedience, Veronica described two flames and a banner with Jesus and Mary’s initials (I and m) imprinted during Passiontide, among other signs. Guelfi ordered her to draw her heart on red paper, assisted by Sisters Florida Ceoli and Mary Magdalen Boscaini, who thought it a jest. Completed by Pentecost, the drawing included a cross with letters C (charity), F (faith/fidelity), V (humility), O (obedience), two V’s (humility/Will of God), two P’s (patience/suffering), a crown of thorns, a banner with I and m, flames, a hammer, pincers, spear, reed with sponge, seamless vesture, chalice, two wounds, pillar, three nails, scourge, and seven swords (Mary’s Dolours). Guelfi sealed it for the bishop.
Post-mortem on July 9, 1727, thirty-four hours after death, medical professors Gentili and Bordiga, with Monsignor Torrigiani, Chancellor Fabbri, priors, and nuns, confirmed a cross with C, crown of thorns, flames, seven fan-shaped marks, V, P, lance, reed, banner with I and m, and a nail. Further examination was halted to preserve the heart and spare the nuns’ grief. These signs, moving and emitting sounds when Veronica practiced corresponding virtues or obeyed commands, were juridically verified, with a print circulated.
12. Veronica's Last Illness and Holy Death
Prelude to Her Final Days
Saint Veronica Giuliani’s thirty-year endurance of the stigmata, crown of thorns, and heart imprints, coupled with her intense love for God, severe penances, and frequent illnesses, gradually weakened her health, leading to her death on July 9, 1727. Father Ubaldo Antonio Cappelletti documented thirteen critical illnesses from 1702 to 1707, miraculously resolved, leading the convent to believe she lived by divine intervention. In 1694, Veronica received a divine intimation that she had thirty-three years left, confirmed by her death in 1727, and she predicted a thirty-three-day final illness marked by a “threefold purgatory” from creatures, obedience, and demons.
Onset of Final Illness
On June 6, 1727, within the octave of Pentecost, Veronica, aware of her impending fate, urged haste in preparing for Communion. After receiving the Eucharist at 11 a.m. (Italian time), she suffered an apoplectic stroke, paralyzing her left side but sparing her consciousness and speech. Radiating sanctity, she exclaimed, “I go, I go,” signaling the fatal stroke. Nuns placed her on a preserved walnut-wood stool, then moved her to a dark infirmary cell resembling a prison. Her confessor, Father Raniero Guelfi, Bishop Alexander Codebo, physician Gian Francesco Bordiga, and surgeon Giovan Francesco Gentili attended her. She humbly requested the Viaticum, which was denied due to recent Communion, and confessed her unworthiness, seeking forgiveness from the bishop and nuns for perceived scandals during her fifty years as a religious and eleven as abbess. The bishop granted daily Communion but deferred the blessing in articulo mortis.
The Threefold Purgatory
Veronica’s illness, lasting thirty-three days, was intensified by fever, head and tooth pain, calculus, joint spasms, and nausea, rendering her unable to swallow food or medicine. Medical interventions—bleeding, hot irons, costly drugs—exacerbated her suffering, constituting the first purgatory from creatures. The nuns’ cautious repositioning caused convulsive pain, which she likened to hell, yet she never complained, resigning herself to God’s will despite missing her former director, Father Tassinari, incapacitated by illness.
The second purgatory, obedience, was more trying. Veronica yearned to die and join Christ but required her confessor’s permission. Father Guelfi repeatedly denied her, causing her to exclaim, “How strange to feel oneself dying, and yet to be unable to die!” Reproved for failing to swallow food or medicine, and for memory lapses during confessions, she humbly sought novices’ help to recall faults, accepting their suggestions with childlike gratitude. Father Vincent Segapeli tested her obedience by sarcastically questioning her stigmata bandages as hypocritical, to which she offered her right hand, saying, “Obedience gave me them, and obedience shall take them away,” displaying heroic humility despite the pain of revealing her sacred marks.
The third purgatory involved demonic assaults. Demons appeared as brutal figures, braying asses to worsen her headaches, or her physician predicting dire diseases. On a final day, a demon disguised as Bishop Codebo accused her of lifelong hypocrisy, threatening a public abjuration. Veronica, humbly believing the accusation, prepared to obey, but nuns clarified the bishop’s absence, revealing the illusion. Her memory lapses during confessions, possibly demonic or divinely permitted, led to further reproofs, yet she responded with profound humility.
Divine Consolations
Amidst suffering, Veronica received graces. She cherished Bishop Codebo’s visits, kissing his pectoral cross for comfort. Daily Communion, granted per her request, inflamed her heart with love. A crucifix, her “door-keeper of the heart,” alleviated pain, prompting her to invite younger sisters to sing a hymn on the Incarnation, moving her to tears of love. She constantly made acts of faith, hope, humility, and resignation, edifying her physician, who noted her response to his encouragement: “In order to obtain merit by suffering, it must be accompanied by virtues, of which I am utterly destitute. Still, I am quite willing to bear it all.”
Final Days and Death
In her last three days, Veronica lived in near-perpetual ecstasy, her eyes closed, likely beholding Christ, Mary, Saint Francis, and Saint Clare. She received the Viaticum three times and Extreme Unction twice. On July 8, 1727, she received the bishop’s pastoral and papal blessings in articulo mortis, and her confessor’s blessings of the order, rosary, and seven Dolours. On July 9, clutching her crucifix, she lost speech at midnight, enduring a three-hour agony like Christ’s, joining the nuns’ prayers internally. At 7 a.m., Father Guelfi, recognizing her fixed gaze as a plea for permission to die, commanded, “Since it is the Will of our Lord that you should now go to enjoy Him… I give it you.” Veronica submitted, looked at her nuns, bowed her head like Christ, and died at sixty-seven, after fifty years in religion and eleven as abbess.
Her Appearance and Legacy
Veronica’s middle height, fair complexion, oval face, bright eyes, and cheerful expression reflected her soul’s sanctity. Despite severe penances, she remained unemaciated, possibly a divine grace to conceal her austerities. Her courteous, modest demeanor echoed Saint Epiphanius’ eulogy, her outward beauty mirroring her inner virtues. The city’s commotion and funeral honors, reserved for later discussion, underscored her impact.
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