Giulia Crostarosa

It was at the monastery of Scala that the great work of her life took shape: the foundation of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptoristines). On April 25, 1725, while still a novice, Sister Maria Celeste received a mystical revelation after Communion. She understood that the Lord was calling her to found a new religious institute whose rules and way of life would be a perfect imitation of the life of Jesus Christ, a "living memory" (viva memoria) of his redemptive love for humanity. Under divine inspiration, she drafted the rules for this new foundation.

This project initially met with misunderstanding and opposition from her community and her superiors, who accused her of illusionism. Father Falcoia himself was reluctant. The situation evolved favorably in 1730 with the arrival in Scala of a priest and canon lawyer, Alphonsus Liguori. After examining the writings and visions of Sister Maria Celeste, Alphonsus Liguori recognized their authenticity and encouraged the reform. Thanks to his decisive support, the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer was officially founded on Pentecost, May 13, 1731, at the monastery of Scala.

Sister Maria Celeste also played a determining role in the foundation of the male branch. In 1731, she had a vision showing Christ conversing with Saint Francis of Assisi and Alphonsus Liguori, ordering him to go and preach the Kingdom of God. She strongly encouraged Alphonsus to follow this path, which led to the foundation of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists) in 1732.

Despite the success of the foundation, theological and disciplinary tensions arose between Sister Maria Celeste and Msgr. Falcoia (who had become Bishop of Castellammare), who wished to modify the original rules. Refusing to betray the revelation she had received, she was marginalized, deprived of the Eucharist, and finally excluded from the monastery of Scala in 1733.

After several years of trials and wandering in various monasteries, she settled permanently in Foggia in 1738. There, she founded the monastery of the Most Holy Savior, where she could finally fully apply the original rule of the Redemptoristines. She served as superior there for nearly twenty years, guiding her sisters with wisdom, balance, and firmness, while being deeply loved by the local population, who nicknamed her the "holy prioress." She passed away at the monastery of Foggia on September 14, 1755, the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, as the priest pronounced the words "consummatum est."

The reputation for holiness of Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa, already immense during her lifetime, spread rapidly after her death. Her spiritual and mystical writings, of great theological depth, were subject to careful examination by the Church. On December 11, 1895, her spiritual writings were officially approved by the theologians of the Congregation of Rites. The cause for beatification was officially introduced in Foggia on August 11, 1901, under the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII, conferring upon her the title of Servant of God. After a long process of evaluating her virtues, Pope Francis authorized, on June 3, 2013, the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus declaring her Venerable.

The miracle accepted for her beatification occurred in Foggia on September 13, 1955, on the eve of the bicentenary of the founder's death. Sister Maria Celeste (born Anna Maria) Lagonigro, a young Redemptoristine nun at the Foggia monastery, had been suffering for ten years from chronic purulent otitis in her left ear, leading to a perforated eardrum and severe hearing loss. While the founder's body was exposed in the chapter house for the bicentenary, a fellow sister suggested that the sick nun press her afflicted ear against the Venerable's chest before the urn was closed. Instantly, the pain disappeared and Sister Maria Celeste Lagonigro regained perfect hearing. Subsequent medical examinations confirmed the complete, rapid, and scientifically inexplicable healing of the tympanic membrane. After the diocesan inquiry conducted from 1987 to 1988, the Medical Board of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the healing on February 19, 2015. The decree officially recognizing the miracle was signed by Pope Francis on December 14, 2015. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 18, 2016, in the cathedral square, in front of the sanctuary of the Beata Vergine Maria di Dio Incoronata in Foggia. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. Her liturgical feast is set for September 11.

The spirituality of Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa is centered on the concept of the viva memoria (living memory). For her, consecrated life does not consist only of outwardly imitating Christ, but of allowing oneself to be inwardly transformed by Him in order to become a living portrait of His redemptive love. This spirituality is deeply Eucharistic, contemplative, and focused on the mystery of the Cross as the supreme expression of divine love. She left behind a remarkable literary body of work, including her Autobiography, spiritual poetry, and fifteen ascetic treatises, which place her among the greatest mystical figures of the 18th-century Italy. Today, her legacy endures through the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptoristines), contemplative nuns present throughout the world, who continue to live according to the rule she received. Her mortal remains are venerated in the church of the Monastery of the Most Holy Savior in Foggia.