Agostina Camozzi (1435 - 13 February 1458) - in religious Cristina - was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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professed religious from the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant order, mendicant catholic religious order, religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who ...

. Camozzi led a dissolute life as a widow and a soldier's mistress before she became a nun and adopted a life of total repentance. Her beatification received confirmation from

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

on 19 September 1834 after the pontiff acknowledged the late nun's 'cultus' (or longstanding and popular devotion).

Life

Agostina Camozzi was born in 1435 in

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

to the well-known doctor Giovanni Camozzi. Camozzi married a stonecutter - despite the protests of her parents - but was widowed not long after their marriage. She soon became the mistress to a

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

ese soldier and bore his child - her sole child - though this child died as an infant. She became widowed once more after her second marriage when a jealous rival killed her farmer husband from

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

competing for her affections. This prompted Camozzi to realize that her life had spun out of control and caused her to experience a religious conversion circa 1450; she henceforth decided to enter the religious life and became a member of the

where she assumed the religious name of "Cristina". She moved to

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around this time. Her time in the order became noted for the severe austerities that she imposed upon herself as penance for her earlier life and she lived in a number of

convents A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...

where she became known as a miracle worker until settling in

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

. She clothed herself in a habit that was made from sown-together rags and meditated deep on the

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. Camozzi travelled on a pilgrimage to both

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as well as international to

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in 1457 during the

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

en season but on the return trip died in Spoleto in 1458 due to fever. She received a vision of the

Blessed Mother Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

before her death. Her remains were interred at the order's church of Saint Nicholas but re-interred at the Chiesa di San Gregorio Magno in 1921 until 2015 when the remains were moved back to her hometown. In 1999 her remains were examined and the report suggested that she was obese and was 1.45 meters. The report was allowed at the invitation of Monsignor Giampiero Ceccarelli and the

Bishop of Spoleto The Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Historically, it was the Diocese of Spoleto. Elevated to the status of an archdiocese since 1821, it is a metropolis ( ...

Riccardo Fontana. The examination reported all her teeth were present and the thorax was well preserved while there was the total absence of all internal organs.

Beatification

Tomba della Beata Cristina Semenzi da Calvisano

The confirmation of the late nun's 'cultus' (or popular devotion) on 19 September 1834 allowed for

to approve the nun's beatification. In 1521 she was chosen as the patron of

Calvisano Calvisano (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the Italian province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is the manufacturing base of Lones Spa, manufacturer of Fly Flot shoes. Agritech is a known fiberglass silos company. Sport Its rugby union Rugby ...

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camozzi, Agostina 1435 births 1458 deaths 15th-century venerated Christians 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Beatifications by Pope Gregory XVI Italian beatified people People from Como Miracle workers