Blessed Costanza Starace (5 September 1845 – 13 September 1921) was an Italian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

. She was the founder of the religious congregation known as the Compassionist Sisters Servants of Mary. Starace later assumed the new name of "Maria Maddalena of the Passion" upon the occasion of her solemn profession. She became a secular member of the

Servite Order The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nu ...

after she failed to join a religious order. Starace devoted her life to

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and to the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer ...

in her mission to evangelize and provide relief to the ill - this was evident during a series of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreaks near

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. She established her order to assist in proving relief and extending that service to the poor. She was beatified on 15 April 2007.

Life

Costanza Starace was born on 5 September 1845 to Francesco Starace and Maria Rosa Cascone as the first of six children. At her

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

she was consecrated to the

for protection. As a child she attended a boarding school that the Daughters of Charity ran in Castellammare di Stabia. She was attracted to religious life and entered a

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 ...

at the age of twelve but was discharged and returned home at the age of fourteen due to her poor health. It was back at home that she enlisted the aid of a tutor who also helped her to start a regular life of reflection. As an adolescent she made efforts twice to enter religious life but was hampered with her health and thus she was required to return to her home; despite these attempts her parents objected. She became a Servite tertiary and made her final profession on 18 June 1867 in the name of "Maria Maddalena of the Passion". The Bishop of Casteallammare di Stabia Francesco Petagna placed her as the head of the Pious Union of the Daughters of Mary and part of her time involved teaching

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

to the youth. Following a series of

outbreaks she decided to gather a group of women to help sufferers from the spread. It was at this point that she established the Compassionist Sisters Servants of Mary; the congregation received initial approval on 27 May 1871. Starace died on 13 December 1921 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. She was later re-interred in on 19 August 1929.

Beatification

The beatification process commenced on 4 April 1939 under

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

and this granted her the title

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. The process commenced on a local level in Castellammare di Stabia and the local process closed in 1942. It saw the accumulation of both documentation and witness testimonies and was granted formal ratification in 1993 - decades later - for the cause to proceed. The

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

was submitted to 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, passi ...

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, ...

in 1995 for further evaluation.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

proclaimed her to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 7 July 2003 after he recognized that Starace had lived a life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

. The miracle required for her beatification was subjected to a diocesan tribunal and was ratified on 13 June 2003.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

approved the healing as a miracle on 26 June 2006 and allowed for her beatification to take place on 15 April 2007. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins - on behalf of the pope - presided over the beatification.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleCompassionist Sisters Servants of Mary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starace, Maria Maddalena 1845 births 1921 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 20th-century venerated Christians Italian beatified people Founders of Catholic religious communities Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI 19th-century Neapolitan people Servites Servite Order Deaths from pneumonia in Campania Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II

Life

Beatification

See also

References

External links