March 25 St. Lucia Filippini (Lucy Filippini) Virgin.
March 25 St. Lucia Filippini (Lucy Filippini) Virgin.
1672 - 1732
Patronage: Religious Teachers Filippini.
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Lucia Filippini was born on 13 January 1672 in Corneto-Tarquinia. She was the fifth and youngest child of Filippo Filippini and Maddalena Picchi. She had not yet reached her first birthday when her mother died and was buried in the Church of San Marco. Her father, whom she loved dearly, also died six years later and was buried in the Church of Santa Margherita in Corneto. Now orphaned, Lucia went to live with her aunt and uncle. As a child Lucia would prepare small altars and pray devoutly. It was soon clear that she possessed a precocious intelligence, an inclination toward the spiritual life and a modesty that was truly angelic. Her vision was set on God. Notwithstanding her aristocratic upbringing, she always conducted herself with modesty and its practice.
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Furthermore, she possessed an uncommon understanding of spiritual matters and the need to dress modestly. Her main focus at this young age was God and God alone. She lived to please Him.
Not far from her uncle’s home, the Benedictine nuns’ monastery, Santa Lucia, educated the daughters of aristocratic families. Lucia often visited the nuns, passing her day in the peaceful surroundings away from the bustle of city life.
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Attracted by both the goodness and the holy work of the nuns, Lucia learned her catechism from them and received her First Holy Communion at the Benedictine monastery. With each passing day her hunger and thirst for divine things intensified. Just knowing the teachings of the Church was not enough — she wanted to penetrate them and understand them so as to love God all the more. Such was her love of God that when she spoke of Him, she brought tears to the eyes of her friends.
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When Cardinal Mark Anthony Barbarigo made his first pastoral visit to Corneto, he made a lasting impression on Lucia and she followed him to Montefiascone. Entrusting herself to the Cardinal’s guidance, Lucia was eager to leave behind all worldly things in order to find her eternal treasure. She had a special devotion to Our Lady, her spiritual Mother and throughout her life, her deep love for Mary and her faith, sustained her.
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As Cardinal Barbarigo worked for a rebirth of Christian living in his dioceses, she faithfully and patiently waited to learn the part she would play. First, he established a seminary for young men where they would study for the priesthood and prepare to administer the sacraments.
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The second phase of his plan for revitalizing the Catholic Church involved the family. To increase the holiness of home life, he knew he must start with the wives and mothers. Thus, he planned to open schools where young girls, especially the poor, would form a correct Christian conscience and learn to practice womanly virtues. Cardinal Barbarigo envisioned Lucia as a key factor to bring about a rebirth of Christian living.
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Lucia would head the schools they founded to promote the dignity of womanhood and help influence a healthy family life. Together they looked ahead to fulfilling their generous, ardent and profound mission of faith and charity. In 1692, teachers were trained to staff the rapidly expanding schools. Many schools were begun for women around Montefiascone that taught the domestic arts of cooking and cleaning, weaving, embroidery, reading, and — most important — Christian doctrine.
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Twelve years later the Cardinal devised a set of rules to guide Lucia and her followers, in the religious life. As more and more women joined this work and more and more schools were built, news of their success reached Rome.
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In 1707 Pope Clement XI called Lucia to start the same schools in Rome under his protection. In addition to the schools, Lucy and her teachers also held conferences for women. Much like the women’s conferences of today, these provided opportunities for women to gather as one to learn, to pray, and to strengthen their faith by meditation and good works.
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Furthermore, the religious teachers engaged in the other corporal works of mercy such as feeding the poor and caring for the sick.
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St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), founder of the Passionist Congregation, expressed great delight when he found so many religious teachers in the cities he visited. He wrote that he “was pleased to discover even in the most humble villages, small and fervent centers of spiritual renewal where the religious teachers kept alive the flame of faith, a wholesome fear of God, and an appreciation of educated life.”
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What the young ladies learned in the classroom was meant to be shared with others; they were to be the channels of grace for their loved ones. As Lucia explained, “Having learned in school those things that were necessary, they repeat them to parents and relatives at home and thus become so many young teachers.”
The chain of conversions grew exponentially as the young girls developed into confident caring women who enthusiastically brought home their deepening faith. Sharing it with their families, parents, spouses, and children, brought them closer to God as well.
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Lucia died at sixty years of age on 25 March 1732, on Feast of the Annunciation. Pope Pius XI beatified Lucy on June 13, 1926 and canonized her on June 22, 1930. Her body remains uncorrupted in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome where she lies in the last niche that was available.
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Eternal Father, I wish to honor St. Lucia Filippini, and I give Thee thanks for all the graces Thou hast bestowed upon her. I ask Thee to please increase grace in my soul through the merits of this saint, and I commit the end of my life to her by this special prayer, so that by virtue of Thy goodness and promise, St. Lucia Filippini might be my advocate and provide whatever is needed at that hour. Amen.