May 28th 19th century

Maria Costanza Panas

Summary

An Italian Capuchin Poor Clare nun and abbess of the monastery of Fabriano, Maria Costanza Panas (1896-1963) is a mystical figure famous for her 'vow of the pen' and her offering for the Second Vatican Council.

Chronology

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Guided reading

5 reading sections

Life 01 / 05

Biography

The youth of Agnese Pacifica Panas, her education under her priest uncle, her teaching career, and her entry into the Capuchin Poor Clares of Fabriano.

Agnese Pacifica Panas was born on January 5, 1896, in Alano di Piave, Italy, into a modest family. In 1902, her parents emigrated to the United States and entrusted her to her grandfather and her priest uncle, Father Angelo Panas. She studied with the Canossian Sisters and then at the Sant'Alvise College in Venice. After graduating in 1913, she taught in Conetta, where she met her spiritual director, Father Luigi Fritz. Despite opposition from her family, she secretly entered the monastery of the Capuchin Poor Clares of Fabriano on October 11, 1917. There, she took the name Sister Maria Costanza and made her solemn vows on May 19, 1922.

Mission 02 / 05

Life and work

Sister Maria Costanza's duties as abbess, her role as a spiritual guide, and her final offering for the Church.

After her profession, Sister Maria Costanza formulated resolutions of total abandonment to God. Appointed novice mistress in 1927, she was elected abbess of the monastery of Fabriano in 1936, a position she held for many years. In 1942, she spent seven months in Ferrara to reform the local monastery. She became a sought-after spiritual advisor, particularly by many priests. Afflicted by serious illnesses in the late 1950s, she offered her sufferings for Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, before passing away on May 28, 1963.

Cult 03 / 05

Path to holiness

The opening of the cause for the beatification of Maria Costanza Panas and the recognition of her heroic virtues.

The reputation for holiness of Mother Maria Costanza Panas led to the opening of her beatification process. The diocesan inquiry took place in the Diocese of Fabriano-Matelica between 1983 and 1988, and its validity was recognized in 1993. After the examination of the Positio, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing her heroic virtues on October 10, 2016, thus conferring upon her the title of Venerable.

Cult 04 / 05

Beatification and canonization

The recognition of the miracle of the healing of a newborn and the celebration of her beatification in 2022.

On February 18, 2022, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to her intercession: the sudden and complete healing in 1985 of a newborn suffering from severe feto-natal anemia, cerebral hemorrhage, and multi-organ failure in Ancona. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on October 9, 2022, in the Cathedral of San Venanzio in Fabriano, presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro on behalf of Pope Francis.

Legacy 05 / 05

Spirituality and legacy

The vow of the pen, the spiritual writings of the Blessed, and the testimony of Padre Pio regarding her.

The spirituality of Maria Costanza Panas is centered on abandonment to the divine will, the Eucharist, and the Virgin Mary. Her "vow of the pen" led her to write numerous letters of spiritual direction, treatises, and biblical commentaries. During her lifetime, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) had described her as a "creature greatly loved by God." Her mortal remains rest today in the Cathedral of San Venanzio in Fabriano.