Blessed Clelia Merloni - Catholic Blessed

Blessed Clelia Merloni

Blessed

Post-Congregation

Feast Day

21-Nov

Born

10 March 1861 in Forli, Italy

Died

21 November 1930 in Rome, Italy of natural causes; buried at Campo Verano cemetery in Rome; following the destruction of the cemetery during World War II, Mother Clelia was re-interred in the chapel of the Motherhouse of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome in 1945

Beatified

3 November 2018 by Pope Francis; beatification recognition celebrated at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, Italy, presided by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu; the beatification miracle involved the cure of Brazilian physician Pedro Ângelo of Landry’s paralysis or Guillian-Barré syndrome, in 1951; Ângelo had reached the point where he could barely swallow, and his condition was considered fatal; he was completely cured after a combination of prayer and drinking from a cup of water in which a relic of Merloni (a piece of fabric from her veil) had been placed

Venerated

21 December 2016 by Pope Francis (decree of heroic virtues)

Biography

Blessed Clelia Merloni, born on 10 March 1861 in Forli, Italy, was the daughter of Gioacchino Merloni, a wealthy and influential industrialist, and Teresa Brandinelli. At only a few hours old, Clelia was baptized in the diocesan cathedral of Santa Croce in Forli. Tragically, her mother passed away in 1864 when Clelia was just three years old. She was then raised by her maternal grandmother and her step-mother, Maria Giovanna Boeri, who married Gioacchino in 1866.

Cause for Canonization

Beatified

Beatified2018-11-03 by 3 November 2018 by Pope Francis; beatification recognition celebrated at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, Italy, presided by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu; the beatification miracle involved the cure of Brazilian physician Pedro Ângelo of Landry’s paralysis or Guillian-Barré syndrome, in 1951; Ângelo had reached the point where he could barely swallow, and his condition was considered fatal; he was completely cured after a combination of prayer and drinking from a cup of water in which a relic of Merloni (a piece of fabric from her veil) had been placed