Florida Cevoli

Within the monastery of Città di Castello, Sister Florida Cevoli quickly distinguished herself by her spiritual maturity and her governing abilities. In 1716, when Saint Veronica Giuliani was elected abbess, Sister Florida was appointed vicar. She became the confidante and precious support of the abbess, actively assisting her in daily management and human relations thanks to her solid intellectual training.

Upon the death of Saint Veronica Giuliani in 1727, Sister Florida succeeded her as abbess. She would lead the monastery for nearly twenty-five years, alternating between the offices of abbess and vicar. She strove to maintain the strict observance of the Rule of Saint Clare, while demonstrating great gentleness and a spirit of evangelical poverty, not hesitating to perform the humblest tasks despite her noble origins.

Sister Florida also played a major role in promoting the cause of beatification of her spiritual mistress, Saint Veronica Giuliani. In 1753, she decided to found a new monastery in the saint's birthplace in Mercatello sul Metauro. She personally supervised the construction work with remarkable practical sense, taking care to limit expenses and reuse existing structures to preserve the community's resources.

On the temporal level, she intervened with authority for peace: in 1758, during the revolt of the inhabitants of Città di Castello against the pontifical administration, her mediation with Bishop Giovanni Battista Lattanzi made it possible to obtain an amnesty from Pope Clement XIII.

For nearly twenty years, she endured with heroic patience a painful skin disease (a severe herpes or eczema) that covered her body with sores and caused her intense itching, without ever letting her suffering show to her sisters.

After her death on June 12, 1767, following thirty-seven days of high fever, Sister Florida's reputation for holiness spread rapidly. In 1827, the Bishop of Città di Castello, Msgr. Giovanni Muzi, opened the canonical inquiry into her virtues and miracles. The cause for canonization was officially introduced in Rome in 1838. On June 19, 1910, Pope Pius X signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her theological and cardinal virtues, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

The cause for beatification progressed thanks to the recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession: the sudden, perfect, and lasting healing of the young child Augusto Panfili, a native of Città di Castello. The canonical process concerning this miracle was conducted by the diocesan curia of Città di Castello between 1929 and 1930.

On June 13, 1992, Pope John Paul II promulgated the official decree recognizing the miraculous nature of this healing. The beatification ceremony was celebrated by Pope John Paul II on May 16, 1993, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican. Her liturgical feast is set for June 12, the day of her birth into heaven.

The spirituality of Blessed Florida Cevoli is deeply rooted in the Franciscan and Capuchin school, shaped by the example of Saint Veronica Giuliani. Her contemplative life centered on the love of the crucified Christ, devotion to the Eucharist, and a total abandonment to the divine will, summarized in her prayer: "Iesus amor, fiat voluntas tua!" (Jesus love, may your will be done!).

She knew how to reconcile an intense mystical life with a keen sense of practical and administrative realities, proving herself to be a wise spiritual and temporal guide for her community. Her legacy continues notably through the Sacred Heart Monastery of Mercatello sul Metauro, which she initiated and which continues to welcome contemplative nuns. She is invoked today as the patroness of abbesses.