Madre Maria Crocifissa Curcio Beatified During Ceremony in Rome

By: Very Reverend William Harry, O.Carm.

Madre Crocifissa Curcio, the founder of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, was beatified in Saint Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, November 13, 2005. Charles Foucald, the French missionary to the Sahara, and Maria Pia Mastena, the foundress of the Religious of the Holy Face, were beatified during the same ceremony.

The tapestry of Madre Crocifissa Curcio

Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, was the principle celebrant. Father Joseph Chalmers, the Prior General, members of the General Council, and Carmelites from Italy, Spain and Brazil were among the several hundred concelebrants in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

At the conclusion of the Eucharist, as has become the custom, Pope Benedict XVI entered the basilica. After venerating the relics and speaking briefly about each of the new Blesseds, he greeted the postulators for the causes and representatives of their religious families.

Speaking of Madre Crocifissa, the Pope said, “An authentic passion for souls marked the life of Mother Maria Crocifissa, who dynamically encouraged “spiritual reparation” in order to reciprocate Jesus’ love for us. Her life was a continual prayer, even when she went to serve the people, especially poor and needy girls.”

He then prayed that the new Blessed might continue to watch over the Congregation and over all her followers.

Madre Crocifissa was born Rosa Curcio in Sicily on January 30, 1877. She was seventh of 10 siblings in a home which provided her with a strong cultural and social background. In 1888 she read the Life of Saint Teresa of Jesus and discovered her Carmelite vocation. Two years later she was enrolled in the Carmelite Third Order in Ispica.

	View of Saint Peter’s Square following the beatification ceremony

In 1924 she met Italian Carmelite Lorenzo van den Eerenbeemt for the first time. He would become her closest collaborator. When Madre Crocifissa came to Rome for the canonization of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, she and Father Lorenzo traveled to Santa Marinella on the sea-coast west of Rome to see if she could make a foundation there. The beauty of the area deeply touched Madre Crocifissa and it became the center of the Congregation.

Today the Congregation is present in Italy, Brazil, Tanzania, Malta, Canada, the Philippines, and Romania.

The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints conceded the Nulla Osta in January 1989, allowing the process for canonization of Madre Crocifissa to begin. The diocesan inquest started the following month. In 1991, a presumed miracle was attributed to the Servant of God. Following the acceptance of the miracle, the decree was read on December 20, 2004 in the presence of Pope John Paul II.

The beatification of Madre Crocifissa was originally scheduled to take place on April 24, 2005. However upon the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, all previously scheduled ceremonies were suspended. Following the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican Secretary of State announced the new date in November for the beatification ceremony.

Used with permission from CITOC. Photos from the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.