Maria Velotti

It was in Naples that the major work of her life took shape: the foundation of a new religious family. In 1864, while residing temporarily with the Theresian Sisters, she met a wealthy widow, Eletta Albini (in religion Sister Maria Francesca). Together, they shared the desire to lead an active and contemplative religious life entirely devoted to charity. In 1868, with the help of several companions, they laid the foundations of the Institute of the Franciscan Adorer Sisters of the Holy Cross (Suore Francescane Adoratrici della Santa Croce). On October 17, 1877, Maria Velotti and her companions officially took the veil, marking the beginning of the congregation. The institute received the spiritual support and encouragement of great figures of the time, notably the Venerable Michelangelo Longo da Marigliano, Father Bernardino da Portogruaro (then Minister General of the Friars Minor), and Saint Ludovico da Casoria. In April 1884, the community transferred its motherhouse to Casoria, near the birthplace of Saint Ludovico. The sisters opened a school for young girls and an orphanage there. They actively collaborated in the charitable works of Saint Ludovico da Casoria, particularly for the reception and education of African girls redeemed from slavery. The mission of the congregation is thus articulated around the adoration of the Cross, the Christian education of youth, and assistance to the poor, the sick, and the disabled.

Nicknamed by the local population "la monaca santa" (the holy nun), Maria Velotti enjoyed an immense reputation for holiness during her lifetime. She was sought after for her spiritual counsel and her profound evangelical wisdom, even though she remained simple and illiterate. Her final years were marked by severe physical suffering. Afflicted by progressive paralysis of the legs, she spent the last ten years of her life bedridden or in a chair, offering her infirmities in union with the Passion of Christ. She passed away serenely on the morning of September 3, 1886, in Casoria, at the age of 59. In 1926, her mortal remains were transferred to the chapel of the motherhouse of her congregation in Casoria, where she still rests. The diocesan informative process regarding her heroic virtues and reputation for holiness was opened in Naples in 1927 and concluded in 1934. On January 21, 2016, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thereby conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The path to her beatification officially opened with the recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession. This concerns the unexplained healing, which occurred in 1926, of a man suffering from a serious pulmonary condition (acute pleuropneumonia) complicated by heart failure and deemed to be in agony by the doctors. After his wife prayed all night at the tomb of Maria Velotti, the patient was instantly and totally healed, without any aftereffects. On December 11, 2019, Pope Francis signed the decree approving this miracle. Initially scheduled for May 16, 2020, the beatification ceremony was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The celebration finally took place on September 26, 2020, in the Cathedral of Naples. The rite was presided over by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, representing Pope Francis. During the Angelus on September 27, 2020, the Holy Father greeted the new Blessed, describing her as an "example of contemplation of the mystery of Calvary and tireless in the exercise of charity."

The spirituality of Blessed Maria Velotti is deeply rooted in the Franciscan charism and centered on the mystery of the Cross. For her, the contemplation of Calvary was not a passive devotion, but the driving force of an active and concrete charity toward the most destitute. She knew how to combine a life of profound mystical union with a rigorous social commitment in the peripheries of Naples in the 19th century. Today, the Franciscan Sisters Adorers of the Holy Cross continue her work in Italy and throughout the world, dedicating themselves to the education of children, the protection of the dignity of women, and the assistance of the elderly and the sick, thus perpetuating the legacy of compassion and humility bequeathed by their founder.