Souls in purgatory appear to Italian mystic "Mamma Natuzza" (d. 2009)

Summary:

Fortunata Evolo, whose diminutive name was Natuzza, was born on August 23, 1924, in Paravati, Calabria (Italy). By then, her father had already emigrated to Argentina, like thousands of Italians at the time, fleeing poverty and rampant unemployment. To support the family, her mother took on all sorts of work to feed her numerous family. Once, she was arrested for stealing chickens and taken to prison, and as the oldest, Natuzza had to shoulder the burden of being a mother to her younger siblings.  

In 1932, she had her first visionary experience. One night, in a dream, she saw a figure dressed like a religious, whom she would not recognize until years later when looking at holy images: it was Saint Francis of Paula. This apparition remained engraved deep in her memory. Being unhappy with her life, she inwardly asked this vision to help her leave this depressing environment. Then she heard the answer: "In three days, your prayer will be heard!" Indeed, three days later, she was placed as a servant in the home of Silvio Colloca, a lawyer. She was only eight years old at the time, and had only been to school for a few months.

Around the age of eleven, she had her first experience of bilocation. In her own words, she found herself in a flash in her father's house in Argentina. She stood before him, and startled, her father asked her if she had died. She replied that she didn't know how she had gotten there. The many precise details she gave those around her about the furnishings, decorations, layout and size of the rooms proved that this first bilocation did in fact happen. At first it was believed that she had made it all up, but soon afterwards a letter arrived from Natuzza's father, in which he reported seeing his daughter up close. Family members familiar with the Argentinian home confirmed Natuzza's description point by point.

In June 1939, something new happened. She communicated with the dead, who appeared to her in a visible way, dressed as the living, night or day. People became worried that she was possessed ("infested with spirits") or the victim of uncontrollable parapsychological phenomena. However, Natuzza's spiritual life and family life were not affected, and were in fact strengthened. These apparitions of the dead were followed, most of the time, by those of Jesus and Mary. Without any taste for the occult, she had no control over these supernatural experiences.  

One of the first apparitions shows that it was not a product of an overactive imagination. One day, while working at the Colloca's house where she was employed, she saw three people sitting on the beds in the children's room. Amazed, she rubbed her eyes, but the vision remained. Gathering her courage, she asked the unknown "visitors" to go into the living room. One of the three people told her that they were deceased. Frightened, the girl ran to tell her lmistress that she has just seen three dead people in the room! Mrs Colloca, thinking it was an illusion, started laughing. Mr. Colloca said to Natuzza: "If they're dead, why don't you ask them their names?" She went straight back to the children's room and, without waiting, asked them their names. She returned to the living room and announced: "Their names are Nannina, Raffaele and Concettal". The notary suddenly froze: three members of his family with these names had died.

During these visions, Natuzza received messages from the dead via her guardian angel, or directly, the voice of the deceased sometimes taking the place of her own voice. Some thought it was a kind of incorporation mediumship, however these visions were in line with Catholic doctrine as as Natuzza knew the spiritual state of the dead who appeared to her, i.e whether they were in heaven, purgatory or hell.

She mostly saw souls in purgatory. Mr. Colloca also heard the voice of an uncle who had died refusing the sacraments of the Church: "I heard the hoarse, painful voice of an old man: 'Dear nephew, I am your uncle. I'm suffering, there's no hope for me, I'm condemned to eternal fire, there's no hope for me; for me, these are atrocious, appalling sufferings." 

One day, a deceased man predicted that Natuzza would have a near-death experience. Shortly afterwards, she fell into a kind of lethargy and remained unconscious for 7 hours. Many believed she was dead, her body giving no sign of life. This type of phenomenon, as spectacular as it is, is not new in the annals of Christian mysticism: in her time, Saint Teresa of Avila experienced a similar phenomenon lasting four days.

The visions of the dead occurred daily (except Fridays and during Lent) until 1960, but were less frequent beginning in 1958. Natuzza made a point of writing down all the messages she received from the dead, sometimes repeating whole sentences in foreign languages she obviously did not know, to people who came to ask her questions.

At the same time, the number of bilocations increased, both when she was awake and when she was asleep. Her "double" manifested itself either close to home (and even in her own house) or, on the contrary, in a very distant place. She didn't feel that she was "traveling", but she would suddenly find herself in a different place, but always with her guardian angel. Above all, these bilocations always had a religious purpose, and were intended for a specific religious mission, whether it was assistance, relief, charity, etc.

On July 26, 1936, a new kind of phenomenon occurred several times: drops of blood appeared on her forehead, cheeks, hands, chest and knees. When a handkerchief, bandage or garment came in contact with the actively bleeding stigmatic wounds or bloody sweat, hemographic writings and symbols would imprint themselves on the cloths (hemographies) always of a religious nature: fragments of prayer, psalms, biblical passages, etc. They were written in several languages, both modern and dead: ancient Greek, Hebrew, English, German, Old French, etc. Natuzza was illiterate, however, and spoke only a southern Italian dialect.

These words and phrases were sometimes accompanied by drawings: crowns of thorns, bloody hearts, rosaries, crosses, spears, lilies, doves, figures kneeling near the cross wearing a halo, etc. An Italian doctor testified that he personally saw blood "running down a pillowcase forming an inscription faster than it could be written." Another person reported: "I noticed on her table a folded handkerchief stained with blood that Natuzza had just left there. [...] Then I saw that the blood was moving, shaking like mercury [...]. I saw a host with the letters IHS and then a whole monstrance. I was stunned...".

Natuzza also received the stigmata of Christ's Passion on Good Friday of 1958. The phenomenon reoccurred every year shortly before the start of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, small pink spots appeared on the tops of the hands and feet and on her left side. Observers were struck by the fact that her feet and hands that were not completely pierced. A few days before Good Friday, the wound caused by the crown of thorns appeared. Blood flowed throughout Lent, then the wounds closed on their own, giving way to small scabs that fell off in a few days.

Every Good Friday, Natuzza, like many mystics of the past, participated body and soul in the successive stages of the Passion, not as a spectator but as an involved participant. Each time she experienced this, she was observed by at least two priests from her parish, doctors and family members.

Her mystical life was at times subjected to terrible temptations and diabolical assaults. She regularly received inexplicable threats against herself, her children and her husband, Pasquale Nicolace. Inexplicable marks of blows were also observed on her body. These demonic "warnings" fitted in perfectly with her faith in the sacrament of marriage, which is a path to holiness if it is lived under God's gaze.

In 1944, Natuzza said the Virgin Mary told her to build a church called Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Souls, a youth center and a senior center to help the people in need. The complex opened 78 years after the alleged miraculous apparition. The church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and built in memory of Natuzza was finally consecrated and opened to the public on August 6, 2022. 

Servant of God Natuzza Evolo died in 2009, after a long life given to Jesus and devoted to all those who met her. Her cause for sainthood officially began on April 6, 2019.

Beyond reasons to believe:

Natuzza Evolo prayed a great deal for the souls in purgatory and encouraged people to do the same, in particular by offering Masses for their repose. The deceased who appeared to her passed on a message to humanity about what happens after death:

"You who naively think that all souls go to heaven, know that hell and purgatory also exist, and that a single mortal sin, committed in bad faith and not confessed, or confessed without sincere repentance, prevents you from entering Heaven. If you have committed mortal sins, it is imperative that you ask God for forgiveness with sincere repentance [sacrament of confession]. But even that is not enough to enter the heavenly homeland; you still have to make reparation for your sin. If there is no reparation, there is purgatory. If there is no repentance, there is hell. Do everything in your power to avoid the punishments of purgatory."

Going further:

Natuzza of Paravati by Dr. Valerio Marinelli, published by the Foundation Cuore Immacolato Di Mari Rifugio Delle Anime, English translation, Vol. 1, 2003.

More information:

• Valerio Marinelli, Natuzza di Paravati, Vibo Valentia, 1983-1998, 5 vols.
• A scientific study available on the internet entitled “A Report on the Case Investigation of Natuzza Evolo” by Michael J. Nanko of the Southern California Society for Psychical Research (S.C.S.P.R.)
• Zenit article by Jésus Colina (Nov 5, 2009). "Modern Mystic Mourned in Italy". June 15, 2010
• Article A Great Mystic Of Our Time: The Story Of Natuzza Evolo And The Church
• Video documentary in Italian, Natuzza Evolo, la Via della Croce