The Saint of the Day for February 25 is Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani.Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani lived a serene and quiet life of faith after a tumultuous youth. She was born in Naples, Italy, Dec. 29, 1806, and was baptized Maria Teresa.
Her father was an alcoholic and her mother abandoned the marriage, leaving Maria Teresa with her husband’s mother. After her grandmother’s death the 10-year-old was sent to a boarding school until she was 17. In 1821, due to his involvement in the uprising in Naples, her father was deported to Malta where he held the title Baron of Frigenuini.
In 1825, Maria Teresa and her mother moved to Rabat, where her father was living, but they never lived together. Maria Teresa declined several marriage proposals, preferring to lead a quiet life of prayer. She joined the Benedictine Community in St. Peter’s Monastery in 1828, and took the name Maria Adeodata. She made solemn profession two years later.
Her fellow nuns and many people outside the cloister benefited from her acts of charity and saintly life. She looked after the chapel and was a porter, which kept her close to the poor who came seeking help. She wrote various works. The most famous is “The mystical garden of the soul that loves Jesus and Mary”, which is a collection of her personal reflections written between 1835 and 1843.
Maria Adeodata suffered from heart trouble. On Feb. 25, 1855, at the age of 48 and in bad health, she dragged herself to the chapel for mass, against her nurse’s advice. After receiving Communion she had to be carried back to bed, where she died soon afterwards. She had a simple funeral and was buried in the monastery’s crypt the following day.
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