Elena Aiello (10 April 1895 – 19 June 1961) 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 ...

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...

and the founder of the Minim Sisters of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Aiello joined the

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

of the Most Precious Blood but was forced to leave due to grave health that soon kept her confined to her home where she began experiencing visions of both

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 the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

as well as saints such as

Francis of Paola Francis of Paola, O.M. (also known as Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507), was a Roman Catholic friar from the town of Paola in Calabria who founded the Order of Minims. Like his patron saint (Francis of Assisi), but unlike ...

. Her beatification was celebrated on 14 September 2011.

Life

Elena Aiello was born on 10 April 1895 during

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 ...

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

to Pasquale Aiello (22 February 1861 – 16 November 1955), a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

, and Tereseina Paglilla (d. 1905) as the third of eight children, one died at one. She received 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 ...

from Father Francesco Benincasa on 15 April in the church of San Domenico as "Elena Emilia Santa Aiello", with her godmother being Maria Genise. During the Procession of Rogations, her mother said that if she had a daughter she would name her in honour of

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

. Her eldest sibling was Emma (b. 1889) and so followed Fernando (b. 1892), Evangelina Isabella Rosina (b. 1896), Elisa Emilia Geltrude (b. 1898) and Ida (b. 1903) in addition to two others. Aiello made her

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...

on 21 June 1904 (the

Passionist The Passionists, officially named the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, are a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720, with a special emphasis on a ...

priest Timoteo presided over that event) after a spiritual retreat in preparation for that and she and some other girls later obtained permission to wear a penitential belt. En route to receive the belt she had an accident that saw two front teeth lost but she put them in her handkerchief and continued on the path to receive it despite the pain. Another occasion saw her inhale water from a glass she had in her hand while laughing and this caused a constant cough for over fourteen months at night and her voice volume decreased due to this; treatment made it worse. Aiello begged that the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

heal her and she came to her in a vision at night and assured her that it would be so. Her mother died in 1905. She received her Confirmation aged eleven from Bishop Camillo Sorgente and her sponsor was Donna Agnesina Turano. Her desire to become a religious was stalled, for her father asked her to stall this until a more appropriate time due to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

which was raging in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

at the time. She instead focused on aiding refugees and on impacted victims. On one occasion she met a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

named Alessandro and failed to persuade him to receive the sacraments. She continued to persuade him, but he instead took a bottle and flung it at her which struck her neck that bled. Aiello held a cloth to it and told him his soul was in danger and would not leave the room until he called for a priest to come in. Alessandro became so moved that he told her that he would receive the sacraments if she continued to tend to him; she did so for three months. In 1920 she joined the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood (her father directed her to that specific order for an unknown reason) but was later forced to leave that order due to a

necrotic Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who is ...

shoulder. She had her shoulder operated on without anesthetic while she held a small wooden cross and looking at a Marian image but the inept doctor cut nerves that caused her lockjaw and a vomiting spell for several weeks. Aiello could not partake in the vesting, for her superior saw her situation to be so bad she could not participate in it, which forced her departure. The doctor told her father to sue the order for her ailments (her shoulder now had

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

setting in) but she convinced him not to do so. Aiello also was diagnosed with

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

and could not retain even liquefied food which prompted her doctor to deem her condition incurable. She placed her faith in Saint Rita of Cascia for a cure which happened. The conditions were healed all of a sudden in 1921, and Saint Rita herself appeared to Aiello in a dream one night. Aiello began experiencing the

stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...

each

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

from 1923 to not long before her death. The first time that happened the Lord appeared in a white garment with the

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...

and placed it on her head prompting much blood to gush forth. The servant, Rosaria, was about to leave the house when she heard wailing and was petrified to see Aiello covered in blood believing someone murdered her. Rosaria rushed to get Aiello's relations who saw the blood but saw she was still alive and so contacted the doctor and several priests. The doctor attempted to halt the bleeding but could not do so for three hours. The sister also started experiencing visions of the Blessed Mother in 1927; she made predictions of future events following these visions. Aiello also experienced visions of

in addition to saints such as

and

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; 2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), religious name, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite who is widely v ...

. On 28 January 1928, she founded a new religious order that she named the Minim Sisters of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 ...

knew of Aiello and was the one who issued pontifical approval for the order in July 1949. On 22 April 1940, the Lord told her to deliver a message to

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

to tell him not to join

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for such a joining would bring both terrible defeat and divine punishment upon the Italian people. A few days later on 6 May 1940 she forwarded this message to Mussolini in the form of a letter. Unfortunately the letter was ignored by Mussolini and never replied to. Aiello died at dawn at 6:19am on 19 June 1961 in

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, ...

; she had received

extreme unction In the Catholic Church, the anointing of the sick, also known as Extreme Unction, is a Catholic sacrament that is administered to a Catholic "who, having reached the age of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age", except in ...

at 2:00am. Her remains were interred in the

motherhouse A motherhouse or mother house is the principal house or community for a Catholic religious community.YourDictionaryMotherhouse/ref> One example is the Missionaries of Charity's motherhouse in Kolkata, which functions as the congregation's headquart ...

of her order.

Beatification

The beatification process opened on 7 January 1982.

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 ...

titled her as

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 22 January 1991.

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 ...

decreed the healing to be a miracle on 2 April 2011 and thus confirmed her beatification; Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

presided over the celebration on the pope's behalf on 14 September 2011. The postulator for this cause is Enzo Gabrieli. Aleteia website, ''The Face Covered in Blood: The Mysterious Stigmata of Blessed Elena Aiello'', article by Gelsomino Del Guercio dated 4/19/21
/ref>

References

Sources

* *

External links

Santi e Beati

Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiello, Elena 1895 births 1961 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI 20th-century Christian mystics Roman Catholic mystics Founders of Catholic religious communities 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Italian beatified people Italian Christian mystics Marian visionaries People from Cosenza Stigmatics Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II