Maria Magdalena Merten (in religious life Blandine of the Sacred Heart, 10 July 1883 – 18 May 1918) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

professed religious from the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they ...

. Merten worked as a teacher from 1902 to 1908 in the secular environment while then serving as a teacher while in the religious life from her profession until 1916 when ill health forced her to stop teaching.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

beatified her on 1 November 1987.

Life

Maria Magdalena Merten was the ninth of eleven children born to farmers. Between 1902 and 1908 she taught children in a secular environment but in November 1908 decided to become a member of the

near Ahrweiler (along with her sister) with the intention of teaching and to deepen her understanding of faith; she commenced her novitiate in 1910. Merten made her solemn profession on 4 November 1913 and assumed the name of "Blandine of the Sacred Heart". Merten led a simple life with an emphasis on tending to the children entrusted to her while also associating action and contemplation with the huge devotion she fostered towards the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. In September 1916 she contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

and was forced to stop teaching as a result. Merten died in mid-1918 at the convent of Saint Bantus due to her tuberculosis and she was buried at the Basilica of St Paulinus in Trier. Her remains were later transferred on 18 May 1990.

Beatification

The beatification process opened in Trier in an informative process on 13 November 1954 until its conclusion on 9 June 1962; her writings later received approval on 21 December 1968 while the cause's formal introduction came on 4 December 1980 in which she was titled as a Servant of God. Theologians would later approve the

Positio In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint. Des ...

of the cause on 26 January 1983 while the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

also approved it on 12 April 1983.

named her as

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

on 9 July 1983 after confirming her

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

. The miracle needed for beatification was investigated from 7 March 1985 until 30 March 1985 and was validated in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1985. A medical board approved the healing to be a miracle on 25 June 1986 as did theologians on 19 December 1986 and the C.C.S. on 17 March 1987. John Paul II approved it on 8 May 1987 and beatified her in Saint Peter's Square on 1 November 1987.

References

External links

Santi e Beati
(in Italian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merten, Maria Magdalena 1883 births 1918 deaths 20th-century German Roman Catholic nuns 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Beatifications by Pope John Paul II German beatified people People from Merzig-Wadern Ursulines Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II Women educators Tuberculosis deaths in Germany