Amata was a Dominican

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

who co-founded the

convent 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 ...

of St. Agnes in

Bologna, Italy Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Little is known of Amata, although she is always associated with Diana degli Andalò and Cecilia Cesarini. Modern historians claim she did not exist, but her relics are buried with her companions at Bologna. There was another Amata, who was healed by

Dominic of Osma Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he and his orde ...

when he cast out seven devils from her, but it was probably not this Amata. Her name has been removed from the Latin

martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

. Amata, along with Diana and Cecilia, knew Dominic personally. She was his good friend; according to legend, he gave her the name Amata, which means "beloved". She and Cecilia were from the monastery at

San Sisto Vecchio The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio (in Via Appia) is a Catholic minor basilica and Dominican conventual church in Rome, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western ...

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, ...

, during the time of Dominic's reforms, which he convinced her to enter. In 1224, he either sent her with the other two nuns, during a time of reform, to Bologna to found St. Agnes Convent, or he was instrumental in allowing her to stay both there and at San Sisto. Amata was buried with Diana and Cecilia at St. Agnes, although their relics were transferred several times but always together. Mary Jean Dorcy, who wrote a book detailing the biographies of saints from the Dominican order, said that both Dominic's naming and her burial with Diana and Cecilia "will have to be her title to honor". Amata, along with Diana and Cecilia, were

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

in 1891 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. Different sources cite different feast days for her: June 8, according to the Dominican martyrology, June 9, and June 10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amata Year of birth unknown 1270 deaths Dominican nuns Dominican beatified people Italian beatified people 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 13th-century venerated Christians