Saint Who?
Saints Who Could Read Souls
Blessed Joanna Maria Bonomo
Abbess († 1670) Feast: March 1
Maria Bonomo was born into a wealthy Italian family in 1606. A popular story says that she spoke her first words in order to deter her father from a bad deed. It is also said she learned Latin by the age of five. She asked to enter a convent at twelve, but was whisked away into a life of gaiety by her father, who hoped to change her mind. However, after hearing a sermon on the evils of preventing one’s children from becoming religious, he relented.
At fifteen, she entered the Benedictines, receiving the name Joanna Maria. She soon had many mystical experiences—her first profession was delayed as she went into an ecstasy while reading it aloud—for which she became widely known. She was appointed to oversee both novices and pupils at her convent, and she drew many to enter. According to a beloved spiritual daughter, Joanna Maria had a gift for reading the hearts of those in her care, helping her guide them to holiness through humility.
Later her activities were severely curtailed by her bishop and a newly appointed confessor. She was allowed to receive Communion but twice a year and even forbidden to write to her father. She was later chosen as abbess, but still dealt with opposition until her death in 1670.
Heavenly Father, through the prayers of
Blessed Joanna Maria, grant us spiritual insight
and peace amidst upheaval.
