Emilia Bicchieri, OP (3 May 1238 – 3 May 1314) was an

Italian Catholic The Italian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Italy, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy and Bishop of Rome. In add ...

nun of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. Born to a patrician, she is best known for founding 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 ...

in her hometown of

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

, where she served as prioress. Bicchieri was beatified in 1769 by

Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (; ; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his elec ...

Life

Emilia Bicchieri was born in 1238 in

as the fourth of seven girls to Pietro Bicchieri, a patrician of noble stock. She was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

sometime in the month of her birth. In her childhood, she often sang

psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

s in the house and retreated to her room for spiritual reflection. In her adolescence, she staved off her father's attempts for her to enter an advantageous marriage. Before her birth, her mother had a vivid dream in which she saw the future work of her daughter. She told this to a Dominican friar who told her that she would bear a daughter and that the dream was a clear sign that the unborn child would become a saint. In her childhood Bicchieri was taught to read and to embroider, and was considered her father's favourite despite emptying her purse as quickly as he could fill it – she provided alms to the poor with tender affection. Her three older sisters concerned themselves with advantageous marriages for greater wealth while she shunned such things as vain. Bicchieri's ambitions in 1254 were to become a

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 ...

but she did not know which order she would enter. In 1256 she decided her call was to serve

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

as a professed nun in the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

. Her father bowed to pressure and in 1255 decided to oversee the construction of an establishment that his daughter could found in her name and use for religious purposes. Her father died after the convent was constructed in 1255, which came as a tremendous blow to her for she was devoted to her father; she had dreaded informing him of her decision to become a nun. The hopeful Bicchieri founded the

of Santa Margherita in her hometown for regular Dominican tertiaries and in 1257 enrolled in the Dominicans before making her solemn profession and receiving the habit of the order; her convent would observe the rule of the

Third Order of Saint Dominic The Third Order of Saint Dominic (; abbreviated TOP), also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Roman Catholic, Catholic third order which is part of the Dominican Order. As members of the Order ...

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...

issued a papal brief that authorized the new convent in 1256. The convent was incorporated into the full order sometime in 1266. On 28 September 1257, she and 30 others took the habit and her mother came to attend the celebration and was amazed that her dream seemed to be fulfilled. She was elected as prioress in 1258 – against her will – but despite her position she liked to do the most menial of domestic duties in service to her fellow sisters. Bicchieri was reconfirmed as prioress in 1273. The prioress became noted for her frequent reception of the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

and for often giving into ecstasies. During her tenure as prioress, the rule in force at the time prohibited members from drinking in between meals without the express permission of the prioress, which was something that was conceded on ultra-rare occasions. Cecilia Avogadro requested but did not obtain Bicchieri's consent, and was advised to take her cup to the angel in meditation for sustenance. This religious died sometime later all of a sudden and ended up in

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

. She appeared to the prioress and thanked her for her firmness. She was known to wear a hair shirt and often fasted as signs of penance. Bicchieri died in 1314 and her remains were placed in a modest grave before being relocated to her convent in 1537. Her remains were moved one final time to

Vercelli Cathedral Vercelli Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale di Sant'Eusebio'') is the principal Church (building), church of the city of Vercelli in Piedmont, Italy, and the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Vercelli. It is dedicated to Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, the firs ...

in 1811.

Beatification

The formal ratification of the local 'cultus' – or popular and enduring devotion to her – enabled

to grant formal approval to the beatification of the late religious on 19 July 1769. One year later, a small provincial printer in Vercelli issued a biography of the nun.

References

External links

Catholic Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicchieri, Emilia 1238 births 1314 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 14th-century venerated Christians Italian beatified people Dominican beatified people Dominican nuns Italian Dominicans People from Vercelli Venerated Dominicans 14th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Beatifications by Pope Clement XIV