The extraordinary conversion of Michelina of Pesaro

Summary:

When Michelina was born in the Marche port city of Pesaro, nothing predisposed her to become a "recluse", let alone a saint. She belonged to the wealthy Metelli family, who ruled the town and its surrounding area. After receiving a high-quality education, in which religion played only a small part, she was engaged at the age of 12, as tradition dictated, to a member of the Malatesta family, lords of Rimini and administrators of the Romagna and Marche regions.

fter the wedding, celebrated with great pomp and ceremony, the couple spent three or four carefree years in the midst of luxury, parties, hunting and travel... A son was born of this union. As the couple's only child, he was the focus of his mother's attention, though she continued to lead a life of distraction at the Pesaro court.

In 1320, Michelina unexpectedly lost her husband. It was a shock to her at first, but as the months went by, the young woman found consolation in the dinners and other receptions of the local aristocracy. She lived lavishly, and there were even rumors that she had a dissolute lifestyle, unworthy of a widow.

Around 1330, the turning point in her life occurred: her only son also died. This time, she couldn't cope: she slipped into deep grief. After some months, her depression only got worse. One afternoon, she suddenly lost all awareness of her surroundings and where she was, and fell into a kind of rapture. She saw her deceased son coming towards her, smiling and happy, in a supernatural light. Radiantly beautiful, the boy didn't say a word. Then he slowly rose upward, and  disappeared. She dropped to her knees and, for the first time in a very long time, began to pray.

In the space of a few days, Michelina underwent a complete transformation: she gave up her fine clothes, jewels, servants and horses; she spent her days and nights in prayer; she read the Bible with profound reverence; she opened her home to the poor who came to beg for alms; she took in the homeless and the sick... She completely changed her eating habits, eating frugally, on uncooked food, bread and water. She distributed her goods and money to monasteries and brotherhoods, and  to the poorest. The more she gave away, the happier she seemed. Eventually, she founded the Confraternity of the Annunciation, with the mission to care for the poor and bury the dead.

Her heart had been touched to the core by an immeasurable divine love. She now had but one aspiration: to become a penitent in imitation of St. Francis of Assisi, her contemporary. Michelina’s vision had triggered her conversion. Like many authentic visionaries, she had received a knowledge of the faith in an instant.  More than her son, it was Christ himself that she encountered in that vision.

This sudden change did not please everyone: some of her family members thought her grief had disturbed her mind, or driven her to insanity. Her father-in-law locked away in a tower of his castle. But after a few days, the men charged with guarding her refused to continue their task, so holy did the prisoner appear to them. One evening, they secretly set her free and told the people of Pesaro how good and holy a woman she was. This was the beginning of the future blessed's popularity. Strangely enough, without any rational cause, the city officials left Michelina free to pursue holiness as she saw fit.

Michelina undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on foot as penance for her sins, which at the time for a single woman presented incredible dangers. But after months of effort, she succeeded. It was during this journey that she received the stigmata, making her one of the first women in history to receive the wounds of the Passion.

Michelina died at her home in Pesaro on June 19, 1356, of natural causes. She was proclaimed Blessed by Pope Clement XII on April 13, 1737.

While the Church in the Middle Ages did not open a canonization process in Michelina's favor, her reputation of holiness was widely attested long before her death. Her fame extended beyond her native province, and her widespread veneration was well known to the Church leaders. By the end of the 14th century, Michelina was a popular figure of sanctity in Italy.

Beyond reasons to believe:

The content of the vision recounted by Michelina is important, as it illustrates in concrete terms the truth of the dogma of the communion of saints professed by Catholics:believers, living or dead, are united in faith in the risen Christ. In her vision of her son, Michelina didn't see a ghost, but a human being living in Heaven who had come to greet her, not to dialogue as two people might do, but to reveal to her that the Lord was waiting for her to go to Heaven too, provided she brought Christ's love into her life.

Going further:

Documentary “Loving the Creator above the creature: Blessed Michelina of Pesaro”

More information:

• Adriano Gattucci, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, « Michelina da Pesaro » vol. 74, 2010, available  online.